twiddle
Americanverb (used with object)
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twiddles,
present (3rd person singular)
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twiddled,
past participle, past
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twiddling
present participle
verb (used without object)
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twiddles,
present (3rd person singular)
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twiddled,
past participle, past
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twiddling
present participle
-
to play or trifle idly with something; fiddle.
-
to turn about lightly; twirl.
noun
idioms
verb
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to twirl or fiddle (with), often in an idle way
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to do nothing; be unoccupied
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(intr) to turn, twirl, or rotate
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rare (intr) to be occupied with trifles
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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twiddlesimple
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twiddlessimple
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have twiddledperfect
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has twiddledperfect
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am twiddlingprogressive
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are twiddlingprogressive
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is twiddlingprogressive
-
have been twiddlingperfect progressive
-
has been twiddlingperfect progressive
Past
-
twiddledsimple
-
had twiddledperfect
-
was twiddlingprogressive
-
were twiddlingprogressive
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had been twiddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of twiddle
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.
See Examples For:
"It's July 2023. Building out the leadership of that operation today, so they can sit around and twiddle their thumbs for the next six months would be nuts," he said.
From Reuters ● Jul. 18, 2023
During offseasons, she’d twiddle her thumbs, unsure of what exactly to do with herself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2022
“Don’t wear a necklace if you’re tempted to twiddle it,” advised the paper.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 19, 2020
Michael Connelly’s detective is never one to twiddle thumbs, of course.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2019
“I twiddle about with lines of verse now and then, but it’s only a hobby. In any case, thank you for indulging me.”
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
For his part, Adam twiddles his own curly locks with one raised hand, seemingly in nervous anticipation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 18, 2024
Liberated from chronology and fact, the comedy-drama twiddles the timeline of Catherine’s career and marriage.
From New York Times ● Dec. 26, 2021
Facebook Twitter Pinterest In Spike Jonze’s Her, a goofy Joaquin Phoenix twiddles his way into an idyllic relationship with his charming operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 28, 2016
“We can’t afford to allow more devastation to be caused to the park while the Park Service twiddles their thumbs trying to come up with an expensive plan,” Gosar said in a statement this week.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 26, 2016
He twiddles his thumbs and takes a few measured breaths.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
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
Give me the name of an unexpected collaborator and chances are he’s twiddled knobs in their vicinity.
From The Guardian ● May 5, 2018
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
I lifted the padlock and twiddled the numbers to the ones I’d seen Hannie use.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
“It’s not like we’re twiddling our thumbs and trying to get some money. This is a very serious condition,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2026
Meanwhile Miami, which had been ranked behind Notre Dame, and like the Irish, had been inactive and twiddling thumbs over conference championship weekend, vaulted over South Bend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025
Pen clicking and hair twiddling were also triggers, though not quite as frequently.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2024
The court granted cert to the case on Wednesday, after twiddling its thumbs for 16 days, and it scheduled oral arguments for April 22.
From Slate ● Mar. 2, 2024
‘Are you sure you is not twiddling my leg?’
From "The BFG" by Roald Dahl
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.
