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Synonyms

fiddling

American  
[fid-ling] / ˈfɪd lɪŋ /

adjective

  1. trifling; trivial.

    a fiddling sum of money.
fiddling British  
/ ˈfɪdlɪŋ /

adjective

  1. trifling or insignificant; petty

  2. another word for fiddly

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fiddling

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; fiddle, -ing 2

Vocabulary lists containing fiddling

Unimportant

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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.

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

From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026

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

From Barron's • Dec. 10, 2025

Updike stuck up for himself when faced with the magazine’s intrusively correct fiddling: In 1958 he sent one editor, William Maxwell, an unwavering paragraph against a single word.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

Millie's story was singled out by a report published this week, looking into the scandal around subpostmasters who were wrongly accused of fiddling the books.

From BBC • Jul. 9, 2025

She stopped fiddling with the knobs and examined the window.

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

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.