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Glite Dictionary
to fiddle with

to fiddle with

32 3.9
To touch or move something nervously without thinking
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈfɪdəl wɪð/
translation icon : juguetear con
  • She tends to fiddle with her pen when she's nervous during meetings.

Examples

  • I keep fiddling with it.

    V/H/S (2012)

  • I was fiddling with it.

    My Mom's New Boyfriend (2008)

  • I think you just have to fiddle with it, if you will.

  • So we'll get this set up, we'll fiddle with this a bit.

  • OK, So let's take this metric and fiddle with it a little bit.

  • After a few moments of fiddling with it, she realized it was locked.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • His hands are shaking as he fiddles with the gate chain.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • We don't have any time to fiddle with the lock.

    Camel Spiders (2011)

  • You'll break that if you keep fiddling with it.

    Howards End (1992)

  • Bedford frowned, then reached up to fiddle with the knot of his tie.

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

to mess around
vsto fiddle with
  • Informal
111 4.1

To spend time doing playful or unplanned activities

involves touching things nervously rather than broad idle activities
to fiddle
vsto fiddle with
  • Informal
41 4.7

To touch or move something without a clear purpose

is more nervous and unconscious rather than casual experimentation
to fidget
vsto fiddle with
26 3.4

To make small nervous movements, often with hands or feet

involves touching objects more than mere body movements
to pull at
vsto fiddle with
12 3.9

To tug gently with your fingers again and again, often when nervous

is broader covering restless handling not just light tugging
to twiddle
vsto fiddle with
8 5.5

To move a small thing back and forth with your fingers, often when nervous

focuses more on nervous touching rather than only turning
to worry
vsto fiddle with
3 8.3

To touch or rub something again and again without thinking

is about nervous handling not necessarily habitual rubbing
to futz with
vsto fiddle with
  • Informal
1 9.3

To touch or change something in a careless and unnecessary way

is more unconscious and restless rather than aimless tinkering

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

How Nervous

to fidget
26 3.4
to fiddle with
32 3.9
to play around
  • Informal
47 3.4
to touch
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

fiddle with infinitive
fiddled with past
fiddled with past participle
fiddling with present participle
fiddles with third person singular

Morphology

fiddle + with

The meaning 'to touch or handle something in a nervous, restless, or unconscious way' is directly derivable from combining 'fiddle' (to fidget or tinker) with the preposition 'with' marking the object being handled. This is a straightforward compositional verb + preposition construction following common English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

The phrasal verb fiddle with comes from the picture of someone moving small things with their fingers, like playing a tiny instrument. To fiddle is to touch or play and with shows the object being handled, so fiddle with means 'to touch or handle something in a nervous, restless way or without thinking'.