double dribble
1
3.7
- noun
- /ˈdʌbəl ˈdrɪbəl/
- Specialized
:
doble drible
Examples
-
Double dribble.
-
The referee called a violation when he noticed the player's double dribble during the game.
-
After a quick pause, the player committed a double dribble, catching everyone by surprise.
-
During the match, the coach shouted when he saw his player make a double dribble and lose possession.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'double' (twice/twofold) and 'dribble' (to bounce or move the ball) give a clear hint that the phrase involves a repeated or twofold dribbling action, so a learner could infer something like 'dribbling twice.' However, the precise meaning — an illegal basketball move covering either using both hands or restarting a stopped dribble — is a sport-specific rule not directly predictable from the words alone, so prior exposure is needed for the full sense.
Etymology
The noun double dribble comes from basketball: dribble means to bounce the ball and double means two wrong actions. Imagine a player stops bouncing and then starts again, or bounces with both hands, and that double action breaks the rules, so the term means 'an illegal move' in basketball.