Doodling: meaning, definitions and examples

Doodling typically happens when someone is bored or not paying full attention and is aimlessly drawing. It usually involves repetitive patterns or simple shapes.

• She was doodling in her notebook during the long meeting.
• His school books are filled with doodles drawn during class.

Scribbling often has a negative connotation and implies very quick, messy, or careless drawing without much thought. This is common with small children.

• The toddler was scribbling all over the walls with crayons.
• He scribbled a quick note on a scrap piece of paper.

Sketching is typically more deliberate than doodling or scribbling. It usually refers to quickly drawing the basic outline of a subject, often as a preliminary step in creating a more detailed piece of art.

• She was sketching the scenery before starting on her painting.
• The architect spent the afternoon sketching plans for the new building.

Drawing is a more general term that can refer to any act of creating visual art with pen, pencil, or other tools. It usually implies a more intentional and effortful creation than doodling.

• She loves drawing portraits of her friends.
• His drawing of the landscape was very detailed and beautiful.

Best for casual, random drawings, often made without much thought while distracted or during free time.

• She spent the meeting doodling in her notebook
• His margins were filled with little doodles

Best used for quick, rough drawings that capture the main features or ideas, often as a preliminary step in a creative process.

• She was sketching out a rough outline of the painting
• The designer started by sketching different outfit ideas

Typically used in more formal or technical contexts, such as creating preliminary versions of documents, architectural plans, or engineering blueprints.

• Before submitting the final report, he spent hours drafting the first version
• The architect is drafting the plans for the new building

Used when brainstorming or coming up with new ideas in a creative and structured way. Common in design and innovation contexts.

• The team spent the morning ideating potential new features for the app
• They had a session dedicated to ideating innovative marketing strategies