Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of twiddleThe elites got out of positions quickly, while retail investors were left twiddling their thumbs and absorbing brutal losses.—Trent Hoerr, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025 Elsewhere in the hemisphere, democratic countries have regressed to a more familiar undemocratic norm in the caudillo, or the strongman leader with autocratic tendencies, as other relatively healthy democracies have twiddled their thumbs.—Ryan C. Berg, Foreign Affairs, 6 Oct. 2021 But having twiddled his thumbs since leaving Manchester United in 2023, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.—Phil Hay, The Athletic, 23 July 2024 Time is of the essence, though, so don’t just sit back on your couch twiddling your thumbs.—Kyle Thomas, People.com, 27 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for twiddle
Teddy Roosevelt would've been spinning in his grave.
—
Carlo Versano,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
Colin Quinn Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 East Ridge, Ridgefield Colin Quinn has a unique gift for spinning what sounds like idle bar talk into sweeping philosophical statements about the human condition.
—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
28 June 2025
Infantino, then 24, got into his car with some friends and drove around town, beeping their horns, twirling their flags and singing songs in celebration.
—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
30 June 2025
This doesn’t mean that the private sector is full of villains twirling their overgrown mustaches.
The central theme of Season 2 revolves tightly around how well Sauron can narcissistically charm his way into the hearts of those around him, until, like a frog in a slow-boiling pot, the objects of his desires realize they’ve been manipulated the entire time.
—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
8 May 2025
In a sport that revolves so much around India, Australia and England, it’s been a breath of fresh air that South Africa made a barnstorming run to the final.
The downside is that each method has a potential reaction from the AGI or ASI that could turn things ugly.
—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
Somehow, the Dolphins’ general manager and head coach found a way to turn two difficult situations into a playmaking safety, whose return gives Grier a chance to right one of his former wrongs.
Share