chiefly British
: requiring close attention to detail : fussy
especially
: requiring an annoying amount of close attention
the tiny control buttons on the back are fiddly —
M. J. McNamara
M. J. McNamara Examples of fiddly in a Sentence
connecting up all the wires and the other fiddly bits
Recent Examples on the Web
There are a lot of fiddly parts: capturing the right feedstock, securing it in the correct format and feeding any outputs into a preexisting commercial production process.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 1 Nov. 2024
These days kids have their phones and are very fiddly.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 8 Oct. 2024
This makes the work far less fiddly, less messy and as such is ideal for beginners.
—New Atlas, 16 July 2024
The good and the bad of the new iPads
The new iPad Pro and iPad Air are sturdy, powerful, beautiful machines that are still fiddly and expensive
Start Slideshow
The latest iPads are strange beasts.
—Kyle Barr / Gizmodo, Quartz, 17 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for fiddly 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 1 Nov. 2024
These days kids have their phones and are very fiddly.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 8 Oct. 2024
This makes the work far less fiddly, less messy and as such is ideal for beginners.
—New Atlas, 16 July 2024
The good and the bad of the new iPads
The new iPad Pro and iPad Air are sturdy, powerful, beautiful machines that are still fiddly and expensive
Start Slideshow
The latest iPads are strange beasts.
—Kyle Barr / Gizmodo, Quartz, 17 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for fiddly
Dictionary Entries Near fiddly
Cite this Entry
“Fiddly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiddly. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share