fiddle with
To manipulate or toy with, especially in a nervous, restless or aimless mannerTo manipulate or toy with (an object), especially in a nervous, restless or aimless manner.
» Tom is fiddling with his bow tie.
Meaning
4 senses(transitive)To manipulate or toy with (an object), especially in a nervous, restless or aimless manner.
Stop fiddling with your food!
manipulate, as in a nervous or unconscious manner
(transitive)To tinker with: to make small adjustments or improvements to (something), especially in an experimental or unskilled manner.
If you fiddle with the controls, you might be able to get a better TV picture.
The deadline for my report is two o'clock, but I'm still fiddling with it.
(figuratively, transitive)To manipulate in order to gain something for oneself.
(colloquial, euphemistic, reflexive, transitive, usually)To masturbate.
Examples
14 sentencesTom is fiddling with his bow tie.
Tom is always fiddling with his smartphone.
"Here, let me fiddle with it."
Robert was fiddling with his videocamera.
He was fiddling with the phone.
Translations
1 languagesForms
fiddles with, fiddling with, fiddled with, fiddled with| Base form | fiddle with · to fiddle with |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | fiddles with |
| Present participle | fiddling with |
| Past simple | fiddled with |
| Past participle | fiddled with |
irregular
Phrasal verbs
4 phrasal verbs- fiddle awayTo play the fiddle idly.
- fiddle aroundTo toy or play (with something) in an idle, fidgety, aimless or unstructured way; to mess around (with); to muck around (with).
- fiddle aboutSynonym of fiddle around.
- fiddle withTo manipulate or toy with (an object), especially in a nervous, restless or aimless manner.
Synonyms
8 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Phrasal verbs: introduction — Because it is a phrasal verb