fiddle

American  

[fid-l] / ˈfɪd l /

noun

fiddles plural

1. a musical instrument of the viol family.

2. violin.

   Her aunt plays first fiddle with the state symphony orchestra.

3. Nautical. a small ledge or barrier raised in heavy weather to keep dishes, pots, utensils, etc., from sliding off tables and stoves.

4. British Informal. swindle; fraud.

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verb (used without object)

fiddles, present (3rd person singular) fiddled, past participle, past fiddling present participle

1. to play on the fiddle.

2. to make trifling or fussing movements with the hands (often followed bywith ).

   fiddling with his cuffs.

3. to touch or manipulate something, as to operate or adjust it; tinker (often followed bywith ).

   You may have to fiddle with the antenna to get a clear picture on the TV.

4. to waste time; trifle; dally (often followed byaround ).

   Stop fiddling around and get to work.

5. British Informal. to cheat.

verb (used with object)

fiddles, present (3rd person singular) fiddled, past participle, past fiddling present participle

1. to play (a tune) on a fiddle.

2. to trifle or waste (usually used withaway ).

   to fiddle time away.

3. Bookbinding. to bind together (sections or leaves of a book) by threading a cord through holes cut lengthwise into the back.

4. British Informal.

   1. to falsify.

      to fiddle the account books.

   2. to cheat.

      to fiddle the company out of expense money.

idioms

1. play second fiddle. second fiddle.

2. fit as a fiddle, in perfect health; very fit: Also as fit as a fiddle.

   The doctor told him he was fit as a fiddle.

3. fine as a fiddle, fiddle.

fiddle British  

/ ˈfɪdəl /

noun

1. informal any instrument of the viol or violin family, esp the violin

2. a violin played as a folk instrument

3. time-wasting or trifling behaviour; nonsense; triviality

4. nautical a small railing around the top of a table to prevent objects from falling off it in bad weather

5. informal an illegal or fraudulent transaction or arrangement

6. informal a manually delicate or tricky operation

7. informal engaged in an illegal or fraudulent undertaking

8. informal a dismal or gloomy facial expression

9. informal in very good health

10. informal to be subordinate; play a minor part

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verb

1. to play (a tune) on the fiddle

2. to make restless or aimless movements with the hands

3. informal to spend (time) or act in a careless or inconsequential manner; waste (time)

4. informal (often foll by with) to tamper or interfere (with)

5. informal to contrive to do (something) by illicit means or deception

   he fiddled his way into a position of trust

6. informal (tr) to falsify (accounts, etc); swindle

fiddle Cultural  

1. Another name for the violin; fiddle is the more common term for the instrument as played in folk music and bluegrass.

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fiddle More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing fiddle

• fit as a fiddle
• hang up (one's fiddle)
• play second fiddle

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fiddles
  plural

Participles

• fiddling
  present
• fiddled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fiddle
  simple
• fiddles
  simple
• have fiddled
  perfect
• has fiddled
  perfect
• am fiddling
  progressive
• are fiddling
  progressive
• is fiddling
  progressive
• have been fiddling
  perfect progressive
• has been fiddling
  perfect progressive

Past

• fiddled
  simple
• had fiddled
  perfect
• was fiddling
  progressive
• were fiddling
  progressive
• had been fiddling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fiddle
  simple
• will have fiddled
  perfect
• will be fiddling
  progressive
• will have been fiddling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of fiddle

before 1000; Middle English; Old English fithele (cognate with German Fiedel, Dutch vedel, Old High German fidula ) probably < Vulgar Latin *vītula ( cf. viol, viola ¹), perhaps derivative of Latin vītulārī to rejoice

Explanation

A fiddle is the same thing as a violin. The instrument, which has strings and is played with a bow, is more likely to be called a fiddle when it's used to play traditional or folk tunes, rather than classical music. Fiddle music is typically written for dancing, and it comes from backgrounds as diverse as Scotland, Eastern Europe, and the Cajun and Zydeco traditions from Louisiana. To play the fiddle is to fiddle, and when you mess or play around with something, you also fiddle: "Do you have to fiddle with your pen while I'm talking?" Someone who's "fit as a fiddle" is in perfect health.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fiddle fiddles fiddled fiddling

We can’t truly know the ERP unless we know what the market will return, and if we knew that, we wouldn’t have to fiddle with theoreticals about whether we’re being compensated enough.

From Barron's ● May 14, 2026

Without it, the IRS will happily play you like a fiddle.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

Burnett: Definitely, yeah — it had a fiddle on it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026

During his time at Arsenal, Manninger largely played second fiddle to David Seaman, but deputised for the injured England keeper late in the 1997-98 season.

From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026

When they see me walking so easily, Aunt Sylvia sheds a tear and Uncle Bill proudly says, “That doctor didn’t fiddle around. I told him to fix you up like new. And he did.”

From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar

Those with resources and a parlor might have a piano, while those who had less made do with fiddles and banjos.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Bro-country hitmaker Jason Aldean debuted in 2005 with “Hicktown,” a single that paired screaming fiddles with distortion-drenched guitars to celebrate the ways single-stoplight towns make their own fun.

From Salon ● May 16, 2025

“I just loved it. I loved the music, I loved the tempos of the mandolin and ... I loved the fiddles, too,” Williams says.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2024

As he told Terry Gross on “Fresh Air” in 1998, “it was fascinating what these guys could do with these banjos and these fiddles and the steel guitars.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2024

By late afternoon, I lie with my head on Peeta’s lap, making a crown of flowers while he fiddles with my hair, claiming he’s practicing his knots.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

It was one of more than 20 locations where he abused his position as party boss, spent more than £400,000 of SNP cash and fiddled the books afterwards.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

For years, the egg has ruled the breakfast table like a sun god—worshipped, aestheticized, endlessly fiddled with by men in starched aprons and women with ring lights.

From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2025

Sitting at a park picnic table in Crystal City, Virginia, the morning light casting shadows over his face, Wall fiddled with the strap on his backpack.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2025

He fiddled with a stack of papers while waiting for reporters in the room to quiet down and then, with self-assured gravitas, announced a detailed plan for legislation that would provide reparations for Black Californians.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2024

He wore a three-piece wool suit and fiddled with a small rocket.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Neville is skeptical that businesses will be fiddling around with AI products to create their own cybersecurity.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026

Mondelez says it has not been fiddling with the recipe, at least not recently.

From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025

Researchers quietly work away, fiddling with parts of the machine.

From Barron's ● Dec. 10, 2025

Lu Heng began fiddling with the internet as a boy growing up in Shipu, a fishing village in China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

She stopped fiddling with the knobs and examined the window.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

Related Words

• fidget
• fool
• interfere