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

Certainly the music played a big part, the children busking on every spare square of pavement, a joyful cacophony of tin whistle, fiddle, bodhrán.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Megan Romer likes to spend her free time sewing costumes for school plays, picking blackberries in her backyard in rural Cayuga County, N.Y., and watching her partner play the fiddle in folk bands.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

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

I fiddle with the end of my shirt, trying to gather the courage to ask a question.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na

As Sunday night turned into Monday morning, and the strains of fiddles and flutes drifted through the city streets, people hailed the success of Belfast's first ever All-Ireland Fleadh.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

The Administration seems determined to avoid the endless fiddles that torpedoed the frigate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025

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

Ludwig Göransson’s phenomenal score backs Coogler up, layering fiddles over doom metal as if they were meant to harmonize.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2025

He fiddles with the stapler in front of him and can’t maintain eye contact for more than a few seconds.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

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

Family members and friends fiddled with the placards they wore baring the brothers’ photographs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2025

Guitars are plucked, fiddles are fiddled, and brows are furrowed as Marcus Mumford navigates his mid-30s, and the reorganisation of friendships and priorities that mid-life brings.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2025

He fiddled for 187 minutes while Rome burned.

From Slate ● Jan. 8, 2024

Ob was never embarrassed about being a disabled navy man who fiddled with whirligigs all day long, and I never was embarrassed about being a kid who’d been passed around for years.

From "Missing May" by Cynthia Rylant

So rather than address the fundamentals behind higher yields, Bessent has turned to fiddling with the bond market itself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026

She pauses, fiddling with her red-framed reading glasses.

From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026

The ongoing injuries have left Musselman to continue fiddling with his lineup in search of answers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026

My eyes snap up from the loose thread I’m fiddling with to meet hers.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• fidget
• fool
• interfere