fiddle
/ˈfɪdl̩/ verb C1- To play the fiddle or violin, particularly in a folk or country style. · to fiddle while Rome burns
- To fraudulently manipulate (records, accounts, etc.) in order to cheat or swindle. · Fred was sacked when the auditors caught him fiddling the books.
- To fidget or play; to fuss; to idly amuse oneself, to act aimlessly, idly, or frivolously, particularly out of nervousness or restlessness; see also fiddle with. · Sit up straight and stop fiddling!
- Synonym of tinker (“to make small adjustments or improvements”); see also fiddle with. · I don't exactly know how to fix this lawnmower; I'm really just fiddling.
He/she/it fiddles · Past fiddled · Past participle fiddled · -ing form fiddling
Verb forms
- Base form
- fiddle
- He/she/it
- fiddles
- Past
- fiddled
- Past participle
- fiddled
- -ing form
- fiddling
Phrasal verbs and expressions
From the library
Leaning back in his arm-chair of an evening, he would close his eyes and scrape carelessly at the fiddle which was thrown across his knee.
“My fiddle would be the better for new strings,” he remarked.
"But, I say, what about that bloomin' fiddle!
Other matches
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