fiddling
Americanadjective
adjective
-
trifling or insignificant; petty
-
another word for fiddly
Etymology
Origin of fiddling
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at fiddle, -ing 2
Vocabulary lists containing fiddling
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.
Google Calendar provides a “secret address” in settings so you can avoid any API fiddling.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 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
Take, for example, Parton’s great-grandmother, Tennessee, who kept her home open for “singing, fiddling, and buck dancing.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026
As I sat at the kitchen table still fiddling with my oatmeal, I couldn’t get my brother Charlie out of my mind.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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.
