fidget
to move about restlessly, nervously, or impatiently.
to play with something in a restless or nervous way; fiddle: The boy kept fidgeting with the toy instead of paying attention.
to cause to fidget; make uneasy: He was fidgeted by a hunch that the girl was going to cause trouble.
Often fidg·ets. the condition or an instance of being nervously restless, uneasy, or impatient.
Also fidg·et·er. a person who fidgets.
Origin of fidget
1Other words from fidget
- fidg·et·ing·ly, adverb
- un·fidg·et·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use fidget in a sentence
The formal study will involve a computerized fidget ball and carefully coded video observation of the participants.
He slouched in his chair, clutching a crumpled charcoal blazer in his arms, and kept fidgeting.
Van der Sloot Hints in Court that He Might Plead Guilty to Murder | Andrea Zarate | January 7, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe video, which played on Peruvian television, shows a very nervous Van der Sloot chain smoking and fidgeting in his chair.
We know that thin people spend more of their days standing, walking, and even “fidgeting” than do overweight individuals.
He said he didn't want his family fidgeting him, and the surgeon said he would be all right in a few days.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
To see a hostess fidgeting, constantly going in and out, argues ill for her tact in arranging the house for company.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence HartleyThey stood waiting near a lamp-post; he, fidgeting as usual, she, straight and still.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. DrinkwaterAlthotas listened in silence, with no other token of impatience than fidgeting with a scalpel in his hands.
Balsamo, The Magician | Alexander DumasI fidgeted up and down the raft, abusing myself to myself, and Jim was fidgeting up and down past me.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Complete | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
British Dictionary definitions for fidget
/ (ˈfɪdʒɪt) /
(intr) to move about restlessly
(intr often foll by with) to make restless or uneasy movements (with something); fiddle: he fidgeted with his pen
(tr) to cause to fidget
(tr) to cause to worry; make uneasy
(often plural) a state of restlessness or unease, esp as expressed in continual motion: he's got the fidgets
a person who fidgets
Origin of fidget
1Derived forms of fidget
- fidgetingly, adverb
- fidgety, adjective
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
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