scribble

/ˈskrɪbəl/

/ˈskrɪbəl/

Other forms: scribbled; scribbling; scribbles

To scribble is to write something quickly and sloppily. You can also call someone's handwriting, if it's hard to read, a scribble.

Have you ever made a note of something very quickly, and then later when you tried to read it, you couldn't? That's a scribble. People scribble when they need to write fast. The problem with scribbling—-making a scribble-—is that it’s hard to read. Some people have handwriting that is always hard to read: you can call poor handwriting a scribble. Doctors are famous for their scribbles. The Latin root is scribere, "to write."

Definitions of scribble

1. verb

   write down quickly without much attention to detail
   synonyms: scrabble

   type of:

   write

   communicate or express by writing
2. verb

   write carelessly
   synonyms: scrawl

   type of:

   write

   mark or trace on a surface
3. noun

   poor handwriting
   synonyms: cacography, scratch, scrawl

   types:

   chicken scratch

   cramped or illegible handwriting

   squiggle

   an illegible scrawl

   type of:

   hand, handwriting, script

   something written by hand
4. noun

   an aimless drawing
   synonyms: doodle, scrabble

   type of:

   drawing

   a representation of forms or objects on a surface by means of lines