fidget

American  

[fij-it] / ˈfɪdʒ ɪt /

verb (used without object)

1. to move about restlessly, nervously, or impatiently.

2. to play with something in a restless or nervous way; fiddle.

   The boy kept fidgeting with the toy instead of paying attention.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cause to fidget; make uneasy: He was fidgeted by a hunch that the girl was going to cause trouble.

noun

1. Often fidgets. the condition or an instance of being nervously restless, uneasy, or impatient.

2. Also fidgeter. a person who fidgets.

fidget British  

/ ˈfɪdʒɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to move about restlessly

2. to make restless or uneasy movements (with something); fiddle

   he fidgeted with his pen

3. (tr) to cause to fidget

4. (tr) to cause to worry; make uneasy

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noun

1. (often plural) a state of restlessness or unease, esp as expressed in continual motion

   he's got the fidgets

2. a person who fidgets

Other Word Forms

• fidgetingly adverb
• fidgety adjective
• unfidgeting adjective

Etymology

Origin of fidget

First recorded in 1665–75; compare dialectal fidge “to fidget,” akin to the synonymous expressive words fitch, fig, fike; compare Old Norse fīkjast “to be eager,” Old Swedish fīkja “to be restless”

Example Sentences

"Your brain has a really powerful influence on how much you fidget, how much you want to move, and how encouraged you are to take a nap," says Best.

From Science Daily

They can take four minutes on the answer, and people are now fidgeting in the crowd.

From Los Angeles Times

It doesn't fidget much or use a lot of body language.

From Salon

As her mother explains how she struggled to keep her alive amid a collapsing health system in Gaza, Niveen, with her big brown eyes and tiny frame, cries and fidgets.

From BBC

She faltered at times in her first hour of giving testimony, fidgeting with her long nails, and pausing when overwhelmed by emotion and fighting back tears.

From BBC

Related Words

• fret
• jiggle
• squirm
• twiddle
• twitch