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
fiddled; fiddling
ˈfi-dᵊl-iŋ 
ˈfid-liŋ
ˈfid-liŋ
1
: to play on a fiddle
1
: to play (something) on a fiddle
fiddle a tune
3
: to alter or manipulate deceptively for fraudulent gain
accountants fiddling the books—
Stanley Cohen
Stanley CohenExamples 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
Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 27 Feb. 2025
The electric guitar raging off in the left channel punches through with force, and the fiddle occupies its own spot in the mix thanks to a surprisingly spacious soundstage.
—PCMAG, 26 Feb. 2025
Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2025
To celebrate in high style as the U.S. entered the war would be to fiddle while the world burned.
—Laurie Brookins, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fiddle
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Noun
The company’s Android smartphones often play third (or fourth) fiddle to the likes of Samsung and Google.
—Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 27 Feb. 2025
The electric guitar raging off in the left channel punches through with force, and the fiddle occupies its own spot in the mix thanks to a surprisingly spacious soundstage.
—PCMAG, 26 Feb. 2025
Verb
The visual for the revamp of the song that adds some country twang and fiddle to the airy pop original that was Carpenter’s first Hot 100 chart-topper opens with the two women cruising down the road in a truck as Dolly, 79, reads the paper and Sabrina serves as her wheel woman.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2025
To celebrate in high style as the U.S. entered the war would be to fiddle while the world burned.
—Laurie Brookins, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fiddle
Cite this Entry
“Fiddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiddle. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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fiddle
1 of 2 noun
fid·dle
ˈfid-ᵊl
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