diddle

¹ American  

[did-l] / ˈdɪd l /

verb (used with object)

diddled, diddling

1. Informal. to cheat; swindle; hoax.

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diddle ² American  

[did-l] / ˈdɪd l /

verb (used without object)

diddled, diddling

1. Informal. to toy; fool (usually followed bywith ).

   The kids have been diddling with the controls on the television set again.

2. to waste time; dawdle (often followed byaround ).

   You would be finished by now if you hadn't spent the morning diddling around.

3. Informal. to move back and forth with short rapid motions.

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verb (used with object)

diddled, diddling

1. Informal. to move back and forth with short rapid motions; jiggle.

   Diddle the switch and see if the light comes on.

2. Slang.

   1. to copulate with.

   2. to practice masturbation upon.

diddle ¹ British  

/ ˈdɪdəl /

verb

1. (tr) to cheat or swindle

2. (intr) an obsolete word for dawdle

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diddle ² British  

/ ˈdɪdəl /

verb

1. dialect to jerk (an object) up and down or back and forth; shake rapidly

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Other Word Forms

• diddler noun

Etymology

Origin of diddle¹

First recorded in 1800–10; perhaps special use of diddle ²

Origin of diddle²

First recorded in 1800–10; of uncertain origin; perhaps from dialect diddle “to cheat, hoax” or from dialect doodle (in archaic sense) “fool”; diddle ¹ ( def. ), doodle ¹ (in senses “to waste time; to deceive”)

Example Sentences

Don’t forget to say “Hey, diddle, diddle” to the park’s furry occupants, which include three not-so-little Vietnamese potbellied pigs, two of Mary’s sheep, a floppy-eared Peter Rabbit and a friendly miniature donkey dubbed Eeyore.

From Washington Post • Mar. 14, 2018

You diddle a lot of people on small amounts, you’ve got a lot of money, and until we had C.F.P.B., there was virtually no defense for people against this massive, small-bore fraud abuse.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2017

Well, I can wait no longer sit by and diddle while my fellow media figures prevaricate and whinge.

From Salon • Oct. 27, 2016

Luckily, I could afford to diddle around, changing my mind, doing what I fancied: art, music, markets, part-time teaching, screen-printing, bits of this and that.

From The Guardian • Mar. 12, 2016

Hey, diddle, diddle, the dish ran away with the spoon.

From "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo