fiddle
1 of 2noun
fid·dle ˈfi-dᵊl 
1
: violin
2
: a device (such as a slat, rack, or light railing) to keep objects from sliding off a table aboard ship
3
: fiddlesticks —used as an interjection
4
[fiddle entry 2] chiefly British : swindle
fiddle
2 of 2verb
fiddled; fiddling ˈfid-liŋ
ˈfi-dᵊl-iŋ
intransitive verb
1
: to play on a fiddle
2
a
: to move the hands or fingers restlessly
b
: to spend time in aimless or fruitless activity : putter, tinker
fiddled around with the engine for hours
c
: meddle, tamper
d
: to make minor manual movements especially to adjust something
fiddled with the radio knobs
transitive verb
1
: to play (something) on a fiddle
fiddle a tune
2
: cheat, swindle
3
: to alter or manipulate deceptively for fraudulent gain
accountants fiddling the books
Stanley Cohen
Stanley Cohen fiddler
ˈfid-lər
noun ˈfi-dᵊl-ər
Synonyms
Noun
- applesauce [slang]
- balderdash
- baloney
- boloney
- beans
- bilge
- blah
- blah-blah
- blarney
- blather
- blatherskite
- blither
- bosh
- bull [slang]
- bunk
- bunkum
- buncombe
- claptrap
- codswallop [British]
- crapola [slang]
- crock
- drivel
- drool
- fiddle-faddle
- fiddlesticks
- flannel [British]
- flapdoodle
- folderol
- falderal
- folly
- foolishness
- fudge
- garbage
- guff
- hogwash
- hokeypokey
- hokum
- hoodoo
- hooey
- horsefeathers [slang]
- humbug
- humbuggery
- jazz
- malarkey
- malarky
- moonshine
- muck
- nerts [slang]
- nonsense
- nuts
- piffle
- poppycock
- punk
- rot
- rubbish
- senselessness
- silliness
- slush
- stupidity
- taradiddle
- tarradiddle
- tommyrot
- tosh
- trash
- trumpery
- twaddle
Verb
- fidget
- jerk
- jig
- jiggle
- squiggle
- squirm
- thrash
- thresh
- toss
- twist
- twitch
- wiggle
- wriggle
- writhe
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun an expert with the fiddle arrested for a tax fiddle Verb Nero fiddled while Rome burned. the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin
Recent Examples on the Web Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 31 Aug. 2022 Since its founding in 1988, the Lib Dems have played perpetual third fiddle to the U.K.’s dominant Conservative and Labour parties. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2022 Los Angeles Times Love, fiddle-leaf fig, a bustling plant store. Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2022 This mother-daughter duo demands clarity in their romantic relationships in this pop-country track, fueled by irresistible melody, lush family harmonies, and strains of fiddle and steel guitar. Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 29 July 2022 Giddens, a Grammy-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist whose fiddle and banjo chops broke through as leader of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, is also something of a scholar onstage. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 16 July 2022 Kortney Adams, Daniel Berger-Jones, Caroline Lawton and Risher Reddick formed a tight ensemble, each playing multiple roles, with Norwegian folk musician Vidar Skrede adding lovely music on hardanger fiddle and lute. Elaine Schmidt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 26 Mar. 2022 Travel back in time at Pioneer Village: Complete with antique tractors, an opry house and a fiddle contest, Pioneer Village will give you the fantasy of being back in the 1800s. The Indianapolis Star, 2 Aug. 2022 Highlights are an open fiddle jam, dog agility demos, frog-jumping contests. Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 20 July 2022 Howard Fendrich, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2022 This is one path to the future; another, Glenn Martens’s version, leads out of tumult and into the shady, secluded spot where a designer can fiddle around and daydream. Maya Singer, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2022 Compared with the convoluted slings that require you to fiddle with yards of fabric and constantly re-tie, this creation was inspired by yoga wear (code for flexible and durable). Tiffany Leigh, Forbes, 8 June 2022 His hands fiddle with the bottom of his shirt, exposing a soft belly. Leah Asmelash, CNN, 12 June 2022 Meanwhile, the Internet burns while partisans fiddle. Jill Goldenziel, Forbes, 18 May 2022 After work, Hernán — who saw three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan during his 15 years of service — and his Marine buddies would deconstruct and fiddle with machines in his garage. San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2022 The other three here, from Rolex, Tag Heuer and Omega, also stress utility with their prominent crowns and dials that would benefit a wearer too focused on the task at hand to fiddle with their watch. New York Times, 2 Mar. 2022 Researchers need to fiddle with the amounts or efficiency of the various enzymes engineered into the microbes to optimize the production of carminic acid and reduce the amounts of undesired byproducts. Brittany J. Miller, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Mar. 2022 See More
Noun
As Newsom well knows, that’s a load of fiddle-faddle. Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 31 Aug. 2022 Since its founding in 1988, the Lib Dems have played perpetual third fiddle to the U.K.’s dominant Conservative and Labour parties. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2022 Los Angeles Times Love, fiddle-leaf fig, a bustling plant store. Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2022 This mother-daughter duo demands clarity in their romantic relationships in this pop-country track, fueled by irresistible melody, lush family harmonies, and strains of fiddle and steel guitar. Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 29 July 2022 Giddens, a Grammy-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist whose fiddle and banjo chops broke through as leader of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, is also something of a scholar onstage. Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 16 July 2022 Kortney Adams, Daniel Berger-Jones, Caroline Lawton and Risher Reddick formed a tight ensemble, each playing multiple roles, with Norwegian folk musician Vidar Skrede adding lovely music on hardanger fiddle and lute. Elaine Schmidt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 26 Mar. 2022 Travel back in time at Pioneer Village: Complete with antique tractors, an opry house and a fiddle contest, Pioneer Village will give you the fantasy of being back in the 1800s. The Indianapolis Star, 2 Aug. 2022 Highlights are an open fiddle jam, dog agility demos, frog-jumping contests. Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 20 July 2022 Verb
After some of her 25 unforced errors, Venus would wince or fiddle with her racket strings or tug on the brim of her visor. Howard Fendrich, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2022 This is one path to the future; another, Glenn Martens’s version, leads out of tumult and into the shady, secluded spot where a designer can fiddle around and daydream. Maya Singer, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2022 Compared with the convoluted slings that require you to fiddle with yards of fabric and constantly re-tie, this creation was inspired by yoga wear (code for flexible and durable). Tiffany Leigh, Forbes, 8 June 2022 His hands fiddle with the bottom of his shirt, exposing a soft belly. Leah Asmelash, CNN, 12 June 2022 Meanwhile, the Internet burns while partisans fiddle. Jill Goldenziel, Forbes, 18 May 2022 After work, Hernán — who saw three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan during his 15 years of service — and his Marine buddies would deconstruct and fiddle with machines in his garage. San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2022 The other three here, from Rolex, Tag Heuer and Omega, also stress utility with their prominent crowns and dials that would benefit a wearer too focused on the task at hand to fiddle with their watch. New York Times, 2 Mar. 2022 Researchers need to fiddle with the amounts or efficiency of the various enzymes engineered into the microbes to optimize the production of carminic acid and reduce the amounts of undesired byproducts. Brittany J. Miller, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English fithele, fethill, fydel, going back to Old English *fithele (assumed from the derivative fithelere "fiddler"), going back to Germanic *fiþlō- (whence Middle Dutch vedele "stringed instrument," Old High German fidula, fidala, Old Norse fiðla), perhaps of onomatopoeic origin
Note: See note at viol.
Verb
Middle English fithelyn, fydelin, derivative of fithele, fydel fiddle entry 1
First Known Use
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Phrases Containing fiddle
Kids Definition
fiddle 1 of 2
noun
fid·dle ˈfi-dᵊl
: violin
fiddle
2 of 2verb
fiddled; fiddling
1
: to play on a fiddle
2
: to move the hands or fingers restlessly
She kept fiddling with her ring.
3
: to spend time in aimless activity
They fiddled around and accomplished nothing.
4
: to change or handle in a useless way
He fiddled with the controls.
5
: to handle in a harmful or foolish way : tamper
Someone has been fiddling with the lock.
fiddlers
noun
as in harpists
Synonyms & Similar Words
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