fiddle

noun

fid·dle | \ ˈfi-dᵊl

Definition of fiddle

(Entry 1 of 2)

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 [ ²fiddle ] chiefly British : swindle

fiddle

verb

fiddled; fiddling\ ˈfid-liŋ

, ˈfi-dᵊl-iŋ \

Definition of fiddle (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to play on a fiddle

2a : 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

Other Words from fiddle Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about fiddle

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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

Well, for one, the Georgia native's touring band includes a banjo player and a fiddle player. — Ed Masley, azcentral, "What makes Luke Bryan country? The singer did his best to answer that in Phoenix," 14 June 2019 Kemp was accompanied by Barry, who has been learning fiddle the past year or so, and her daughter Gail Elsea on banjo. — Ralph Berrier Jr., Washington Post, "89-year-old Rhoda Kemp builds her first banjo," 10 June 2019 The fiddle keens and runs of band member Daniel Foulks — sometimes country-raw, sometimes virtuosic, sometimes psychedelic — make a mighty contribution as well. — Stuart Munro, BostonGlobe.com, "When the spirit moves Parker Millsap, anything can happen," 18 May 2018 Several puppets join their adventures, which unfold to Anthony Rizzo’s score, inspired by bluegrass and Irish fiddle tunes. — Laurel Graeber, New York Times, "7 Things to Do With Your Kids in N.Y.C. This Weekend," 10 May 2018 Where: Cutter Avenue at Summer Street in front of Winter Hill Bank, noon-2 p.m. PUMPKIN BREAD This young folk quintet made a splash with original fiddle tunes and lilting songs at Boston Celtic Music Festival in January. — Zoë Madonna, BostonGlobe.com, "Too many choices at PorchFest? Let’s walk you through it.," 9 May 2018 The program will feature fiddle tunes, ballads and singalongs played on viola, mandocello, penny whistle, banjo and bodhran. — Linda Mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Big Heart Award goes to Bonsall woman ... community news," 16 Mar. 2018 The music is acoustic, with the country quotient increased, but this time appealingly varied—with fiddles and banjo, pedal steel and piano, horns and even, on several numbers, a small string ensemble, as appropriate. — Barry Mazor, WSJ, "‘What It Is’ by Hayes Carll Review: A New Direction, Yet Again," 12 Feb. 2019 To some gatekeepers' ears, traditional instruments -- such as fiddle and steel guitar -- seemed out of place, so many producers minimized or eliminated them on most recordings. — Tom Roland, Billboard, "Country's Roots Are Showing as New Releases Embrace Old-School Sounds," 11 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Club goers are drinking, mingling, and fiddling with their phones when a shooter approaches from the top of the screen, the short video clip shows. — Amir Vera, Patrick Oppmann And Maria Ramirez Uribe, CNN, "Red Sox legend David Ortiz is in a Boston hospital after being shot in the Dominican Republic. Here's what we know," 11 June 2019 Nashville bluegrass group the Infamous Stringdusters have never been afraid to fiddle with the genre. — Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, "Trampled by Turtles and Railroad Earth headline the region’s largest bluegrass festival in Eau Claire," 6 June 2019 Intel’s Performance Maximizer is designed for newcomers to overclocking, or for people who don’t want to fiddle with manually tweaking voltages and memory timings. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Intel teases 'Performance Maximizer' one-click overclocking tool, with insurance to back it up," 29 May 2019 Fed up with any and all notifications, but don’t want to fiddle with them? — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Windows 10 blocks pesky notifications with improved Focus Assist feature in Build 18277," 7 Nov. 2018 Time Capsule, especially, provided one-stop, no-muss backup for people who didn’t want to fiddle with external hard drives. — Brian Barrett, WIRED, "Apple’s Done Making Airport Routers, So Try These Instead," 28 Apr. 2018 Those inputs are also enough to offer full control over a surprisingly large array of Switch games (sometimes with a bit of menu fiddling). — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Hands-on: Switch’s NES controllers offer unmatched old-school authenticity," 13 Dec. 2018 Prince Harry was noticeably fiddling with his wedding ring during his engagement at the Royal Marines Commando Training Centre yesterday. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Prince Harry Keeps Touching His Wedding Ring and It's a Sweet Nod to Meghan Markle," 14 Sep. 2018 Would the baristas have been accused of fiddling with their milk steamers while Boston’s little slice of Rome burned? — Nestor Ramos, BostonGlobe.com, "Weep not for Starbucks. But in the North End, what comes next?," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fiddle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for fiddle

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

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