diddle
1 Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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Informal. to toy; fool (usually followed bywith ).
The kids have been diddling with the controls on the television set again.
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to waste time; dawdle (often followed byaround ).
You would be finished by now if you hadn't spent the morning diddling around.
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Informal. to move back and forth with short rapid motions.
verb (used with object)
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Informal. to move back and forth with short rapid motions; jiggle.
Diddle the switch and see if the light comes on.
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Slang.
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to copulate with.
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to practice masturbation upon.
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verb
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(tr) to cheat or swindle
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(intr) an obsolete word for dawdle
verb
Other Word Forms
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”; cf. diddle 1 ( def. ), doodle 1 (in senses “to waste time; to deceive”)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
USM’s provost, Jeannine Diddle Uzzi, said that when officials heard concerns and began to investigate the class, they learned that there was never a course proposal or committee review of the syllabus, as required.
From Washington Post • Oct. 20, 2018
Their assignment, a puff piece about a society wedding, takes them to the Diddle estate, humorously realized in Jeff G. Rack’s opulently tacky set.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2018
McDaniels’ retired No. 44 jersey is one of eight hanging in the rafters at Diddle Arena.
From Washington Times • Sep. 8, 2017
Hey Diddle Diddle Bristol Old Vic Box office: 0117-987 7877 There is plenty to charm, if not quite enough to thrill, in this neatly put-together show for the very young inspired by familiar nursery rhymes.
From The Guardian • Dec. 21, 2012
"Diddle, diddle, diddle, diddle, dum, dum, dum," continued Mary Bold, taking up the second part in this concerted piece.
From Barchester Towers by Trollope, Anthony
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
