twiddle
verb (used with object)
to turn about or play with lightly or idly, especially with the fingers; twirl.
twiddled
-
past participleof twiddle.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
-
past tense formof twiddle.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
twiddleverb (used with object)to turn about or play with lightly or idly, especially with the fingers; twirl.
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.
You could follow the text at the bottom of the screen, but most people just twiddled their thumbs and waited.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025
There was a woman in a leather hat complaining that she had been treated rudely by a county worker, a man watching while he twiddled a Rubik’s Cube.
From New York Times ● Nov. 5, 2022
Alma’s poltergeist not only twiddled necklaces but sprang them from shop counters; it whipped saucers across rooms, upended eiderdowns, spun rings on to fingers.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 19, 2020
The board and some investors seemed to have twiddled their thumbs while the wreckage piled up, possibly hoping that Charney would eventually bring back the magic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2016
Doctor Gordon twiddled a silver pencil "Your mother tells me you are upset."
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
