Meaning & use
the fidgets
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Meaning
nounpluralinformal
A nervous, restless feeling that makes you unable to keep still.
Grammar: Takes a plural verb and the definite article: 'The fidgets have set in.'
Patterns
- get the fidgets
- have the fidgets
- the fidgets set in
After three hours in the waiting room, I got the fidgets and started pacing.
She always gets the fidgets before a big exam.
The children had the fidgets by the end of the long car trip.
Common combinations
- get the fidgets
- He gets the fidgets whenever he has to sit still for too long.
- have the fidgets
- The kids had the fidgets during the whole ceremony.
- give someone the fidgets
- That constant tapping gives me the fidgets.
Synonyms and how they differ
- restlessness
- More neutral and formal; it can describe a lasting condition, while 'the fidgets' is a temporary informal state.
- jitters
- Focuses on nervousness or anxiety rather than the urge to move around.
- ants in your pants
- A humorous idiom with a similar meaning, but more vivid and informal.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: the fidgets or fidget?
the fidgets vs fidget
'Fidget' is a verb or a countable noun meaning a small restless movement; 'the fidgets' is an uncountable-like plural noun for the feeling itself.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'the fidgets' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'The fidgets' is a plural noun with the definite article and takes a plural verb: 'He got the fidgets.' Option A uses the wrong article, C uses a singular verb, and D uses it as a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “the fidgets”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.