Meaning & use
fiddle
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Meanings
verbintransitiveinformal
To keep touching, turning or adjusting something with your fingers, often without a real purpose.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by with or around: fiddle with a pen.
Patterns
- fiddle with something
- fiddle around
He kept fiddling with his tie during the interview.
Stop fiddling with the remote and pick a channel.
She fiddled with the radio dial until the music came in clearly.
verbtransitiveinformalBritish
To change figures or records dishonestly in order to gain money or an advantage.
Grammar: Takes an object: fiddle the accounts.
Patterns
- fiddle something
- fiddle your expenses
The clerk was caught fiddling the accounts for years.
He fiddled his tax return and ended up paying a fine.
Some staff were fiddling their expenses by claiming for meals they never ate.
nouncountableinformalmusic
A violin, especially one played in folk or country styles.
Grammar: Countable: a fiddle, two fiddles.
Patterns
- play the fiddle
Her grandfather played the fiddle at every village dance.
The band had a banjo, a guitar and a fiddle.
He tucked the fiddle under his chin and began a lively reel.
Word forms
| third person singular | fiddles |
|---|---|
| past tense | fiddled |
| past participle | fiddled |
| -ing form | fiddling |
| plural | fiddles |
Common combinations
- fiddle with
- Don't fiddle with the thermostat; it is already set.
- fiddle around
- He fiddled around under the hood for an hour.
- fiddle the books
- The owner was accused of fiddling the books.
- play the fiddle
- She learned to play the fiddle as a child.
- fit as a fiddle
- After a week of rest, he felt as fit as a fiddle.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fidget
- Fidget describes restless movement caused by nerves or boredom, while fiddle focuses on handling a particular object.
- tinker
- Tinker suggests trying to repair or improve something with some skill, whereas fiddle is more aimless.
- tamper
- Tamper implies interfering in a way that may do harm, which fiddle does not necessarily suggest.
- violin
- Violin is the standard word for the instrument, while fiddle is more casual and linked to folk styles.
Word family
Commonly confused: fiddle or fidget?
fiddle vs fidget
Fidget means to move restlessly in general, usually without an object; fiddle usually needs with and something in your hands.
Practice
He sat quietly in the meeting, ___ with a paperclip.
Choose one answer.
Fiddle with something means to play idly with it. Fix, fit and finish do not take with in that sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fiddle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.