fiddle

1 of 2

noun

fid·​dle ˈfi-dᵊl 

1

: violin

2

: a device (such as a slat, rack, or light railing) to keep objects from sliding off a table aboard ship

3

: fiddlesticks

—used as an interjection

4

[fiddle entry 2] chiefly British : swindle

fiddle

2 of 2

verb

fiddled; fiddling ˈfi-dᵊl-iŋ  ˈfid-liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to play on a fiddle

2

a

: to move the hands or fingers restlessly

b

: to spend time in aimless or fruitless activity : putter, tinker

fiddled around with the engine for hours

c

: meddle, tamper

d

: to make minor manual movements especially to adjust something

fiddled with the radio knobs

transitive verb

1

: to play (something) on a fiddle

fiddle a tune

2

: cheat, swindle

3

: to alter or manipulate deceptively for fraudulent gain

accountants fiddling the books

—Stanley Cohen

fiddler

ˈfi-dᵊl-ər 

ˈfid-lər

noun

Synonyms

Noun

• applesauce [slang]
• balderdash
• baloney
• boloney
• beans
• bilge
• blah
• blah-blah
• blarney
• blather
• blatherskite
• blither
• bosh
• bull [slang]
• bunk
• bunkum
• buncombe
• claptrap
• codswallop [British]
• crapola [slang]
• crock
• drivel
• drool
• fiddle-faddle
• fiddlesticks
• flannel [British]
• flapdoodle
• folderol
• falderal
• folly
• foolishness
• fudge
• garbage
• guff
• hogwash
• hokeypokey
• hokum
• hoodoo
• hooey
• horsefeathers [slang]
• humbug
• humbuggery
• jazz
• malarkey
• malarky
• moonshine
• muck
• nerts [slang]
• nonsense
• nuts
• piffle
• poppycock
• punk
• rot
• rubbish
• senselessness
• silliness
• slush
• stupidity
• taradiddle
• tarradiddle
• tommyrot
• tosh
• trash
• trumpery
• twaddle

Verb

• fidget
• jerk
• jig
• jiggle
• squiggle
• squirm
• thrash
• thresh
• toss
• twist
• twitch
• wiggle
• wriggle
• writhe

Examples of fiddle in a Sentence

Noun

an expert with the fiddle

arrested for a tax fiddle

Verb

Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The song opens with an electric guitar line, a propulsive drum beat, and some textured fiddle. —Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025

Jigs and reels are played on fiddles, tin whistles, accordions, and bodhráns (traditional drums), and trad dancers often take to the floor. —Yvonne Gordon, AFAR Media, 31 Jan. 2025

Verb

The visual for the revamp of the song that adds some country twang and fiddle to the airy pop original that was Carpenter’s first Hot 100 chart-topper opens with the two women cruising down the road in a truck as Dolly, 79, reads the paper and Sabrina serves as her wheel woman. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2025

To celebrate in high style as the U.S. entered the war would be to fiddle while the world burned. —Laurie Brookins, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English fithele, fethill, fydel, going back to Old English *fithele (assumed from the derivative fithelere "fiddler"), going back to Germanic *fiþlō- (whence Middle Dutch vedele "stringed instrument," Old High German fidula, fidala, Old Norse fiðla), perhaps of onomatopoeic origin

Note: See note at viol.

Verb

Middle English fithelyn, fydelin, derivative of fithele, fydel fiddle entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing fiddle

• bass fiddle
• bull fiddle
• fiddle about
• fiddle around
• fiddle away
• fiddle-faddle
• fiddle-footed
• fiddle with
• fit as a fiddle
• play second fiddle
• second fiddle

Kids Definition

fiddle

1 of 2 noun

fid·​dle ˈfid-ᵊl 

: violin sense 1

fiddle

2 of 2 verb

fiddled; fiddling

ˈfid-liŋ,

-ᵊl-iŋ

1

: to play on a fiddle

2

a

: to move the hands or fingers restlessly

b

: to spend time in aimless activity

c

: meddle, tamper

fiddler

ˈfid-lər 

-ᵊl-ər

noun