dribs and drabs
plural noun
informal
: small amounts that come or happen over a period of time
They received donations in dribs and drabs.
Examples of dribs and drabs in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
No, the devastation comes in dribs and drabs, via sporadic incursions over years: a home bulldozed here, a well filled with concrete there, a 2 AM home invasion there.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
From there, the hacked emails were released by WikiLeaks in dribs and drabs.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2024
Originally scheduled to emerge in dribs and drabs through the week and weekend, Biden’s sit-down with George Stephanopoulos will now air in its entirety in an ABC primetime special on Friday.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 3 July 2024
If so, is there a reason the court releases them in dribs and drabs (only a few a day)?
—Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, 26 June 2024
Any enthusiasm for a trilogy-capper was quickly squashed, though details about the project emerged in dribs and drabs over the years.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 22 June 2024
Over the last three months, in dribs and drabs, the Finance Ministry has systematically rolled back nearly all of these controversial proposals.
—Milan Vaishnav, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2019
But the rules states needed to know in order to make that decision and others came out in dribs and drabs, and weren’t totally finalized until the very month that the federal marketplace launched.
—Jennifer Pahlka, Time, 27 June 2023
But the guests tended to appear in dribs and drabs, or only briefly, or (in the case of Doja Cat, who digitally flirted with Dave but never met him IRL) didn’t appear on-screen with them at all.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2023
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Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
From there, the hacked emails were released by WikiLeaks in dribs and drabs.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2024
Originally scheduled to emerge in dribs and drabs through the week and weekend, Biden’s sit-down with George Stephanopoulos will now air in its entirety in an ABC primetime special on Friday.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 3 July 2024
If so, is there a reason the court releases them in dribs and drabs (only a few a day)?
—Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, 26 June 2024
Any enthusiasm for a trilogy-capper was quickly squashed, though details about the project emerged in dribs and drabs over the years.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 22 June 2024
Over the last three months, in dribs and drabs, the Finance Ministry has systematically rolled back nearly all of these controversial proposals.
—Milan Vaishnav, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2019
But the rules states needed to know in order to make that decision and others came out in dribs and drabs, and weren’t totally finalized until the very month that the federal marketplace launched.
—Jennifer Pahlka, Time, 27 June 2023
But the guests tended to appear in dribs and drabs, or only briefly, or (in the case of Doja Cat, who digitally flirted with Dave but never met him IRL) didn’t appear on-screen with them at all.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2023
Dictionary Entries Near dribs and drabs
Cite this Entry
“Dribs and drabs.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dribs%20and%20drabs. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
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