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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

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.

Ninety-nine times out of 100, that means letting shareholders decide with a minimum of bureaucratic fiddling.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From BBC

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

From Barron's

She has my shirt in her lap and she’s fiddling with the collar.

From Literature

Cassiopeia asked Alexander, who was already fiddling with his compass.

From Literature

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.