Meaning

4 senses
  1. Requiring dexterity to operate.

    The buttons on the tiny mobile phone were too fiddly.

    kniffelig, knifflig

  2. (broadly)Having many small bits or embellishments.

  3. Of or relating to fiddling or fidgeting.

  4. Pertaining to occasional under-the-table work by people who receive unemployment benefits

Examples

3 sentences
  1. Sewing the crotch of the teddy bear was fiddly.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · mollydot · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  2. It's a fiddly job which requires a lot of patience.

    deDas ist eine kniffelige Aufgabe, die viel Geduld erfordert.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · sundown · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  3. It was a tad fiddly trying to apply nail polish with the bigger brush.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · LK · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

3 languages
Deutsch
By meaning 1
requiring dexterity:

Origin

From fiddle + -y, from the verb.

From fiddle + -y, from the verb.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

fiddlier, fiddliest
Comparativefiddlier Lesson
Superlativefiddliest Lesson

regular

Word family

1 related words
Derivedfiddliness

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
fiddly — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto