fiddling
Americanadjective
adjective
-
trifling or insignificant; petty
-
another word for fiddly
Etymology
Origin of fiddling
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at fiddle, -ing 2
Vocabulary lists containing fiddling
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.
I was fiddling with my phone during both expressions of loyalty, nervous that I wouldn’t get an intelligible recording of Mr. Paxton’s remarks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
Neville is skeptical that businesses will be fiddling around with AI products to create their own cybersecurity.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026
Take, for example, Parton’s great-grandmother, Tennessee, who kept her home open for “singing, fiddling, and buck dancing.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
Researchers quietly work away, fiddling with parts of the machine.
From Barron's ● Dec. 10, 2025
She looked away, fiddling with the strap of her bag, and Rishi wondered if he’d said something wrong.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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.
