SINCE 1828
twiddle
verb
twid·dle
| \ ˈtwi-dᵊl
\
\
twiddled;
twiddling\ ˈtwid-liŋ
, ˈtwi-dᵊl-iŋ \
, ˈtwi-dᵊl-iŋ \
Definition of twiddle
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: to play negligently with something : fiddle
2
: to turn or jounce lightly
twiddles round and round in the water— J. B. S. Haldane
: to rotate lightly or idly
twiddled his pen
twiddle one's thumbs
: to spend time idly : do nothing
twiddle
nounExamples of twiddle in a Sentence
Verb
Just twiddle the dial on the radio a bit for better reception. Twiddle the knob on the telescope until things are in focus. She twiddled her pen while she talked on the phone. She twiddled with her pen while she talked on the phone.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Playing regular football week-in week-out has got to be up there with the most exciting careers someone can have, but what about some of the other roles that simply don't cut the mustard, leaving you twiddling your thumbs to the point of exhaustion? — SI.com, "5 of the Dullest Jobs in Football After Costa Rica Boss Cites 'Boredom' for Departure," 8 Sep. 2019 For the second year in a row, Allen and other Chignik fishermen have mostly been left to twiddle their thumbs. — Alex Hager, Anchorage Daily News, "Chignik Bay is ‘hanging by a thread’ after a second year of scant fishing," 3 Aug. 2019 With the second Ashes Test delayed by the typically rainy English summer, both sets of players will be sat twiddling their thumbs in their dressing rooms trying to think of conversations to take the edge off of the excruciating tension. — SI.com, "The Ashes: The Cricketers Who Are Also Huge Football Fans," 14 Aug. 2019 Most were operated by someone twiddling joysticks at a safe distance. — The Economist, "Cleaning up nuclear waste is an obvious task for robots," 20 June 2019 The England legend then has an extra 100 seconds to organise and galvanise his troops, whilst the Qatari players twiddle their thumbs, losing all of their momentum, and handing England the greatest trophy on Earth, Sounds ridiculous, right? — SI.com, "5 Weird and Wonderful Laws From Other Sports That Should Be Implemented in Football," 31 July 2019 Bacteria have an unfortunate — and inaccurate — public image as isolated cells twiddling about on microscope slides. — Quanta Magazine, "Bacteria Use Brainlike Bursts of Electricity to Communicate," 5 Sep. 2017 Right about now, college sports fans are twiddling their thumbs and waiting anxiously for the start of football season just over 60 days away. — Rana Cash, The Courier-Journal, "How many football games will Louisville and Kentucky win? See win projections," 26 June 2019 In effect the policy creates a knob, which can be twiddled between a redistribution of capital and control, all the way to handing the means of production to workers wholesale (as was Mr Meidner’s original intention, until ABBA intervened). — The Economist, "The winner (no longer) takes it all," 15 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Pilots sit behind a modern avionic dashboard and twiddle control sticks to direct advanced, swiveling engines. — Andrew Van Dam, chicagotribune.com, "The blimp industry is changing, right over our noses," 12 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'twiddle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for twiddle
twiddle
verb
English Language Learners Definition of twiddle
: to turn (something) back and forth slightly
See the full definition for twiddle in the English Language Learners Dictionary
twiddle
verb
twid·dle
| \ ˈtwi-dᵊl
\
\
twiddled;
twiddling
Kids Definition of twiddle
: twirl entry 1
I twiddled my thumbs.
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