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
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
Fiddle leaf fig From the rainforests of western Africa right to your living room, fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata) infuses any space with a touch of the tropical.
—Amelia Mularz, Architectural Digest, 17 Jan. 2025
Hannah Sacks, People.com, 12 Mar. 2025
Bulla gave a veritable master class in bluegrass and Texas-style fiddling, as his Trio performed works ranging from bluegrass legends Bill Monroe and Kenny Baker to Lyle Lovett and Cole Porter.
—Del Mar Foundation, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fiddle
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Noun
But the highlight of the first film was Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise, who gets the short straw in this one, paying sixth fiddle to his much duller adult co-stars.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
Fiddle leaf fig From the rainforests of western Africa right to your living room, fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata) infuses any space with a touch of the tropical.
—Amelia Mularz, Architectural Digest, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
This past summer, Munn posted an adorable video on her Instagram of Malcolm and Mulaney sitting on the couch and fiddling their fingers in the same exact manner.
—Hannah Sacks, People.com, 12 Mar. 2025
Bulla gave a veritable master class in bluegrass and Texas-style fiddling, as his Trio performed works ranging from bluegrass legends Bill Monroe and Kenny Baker to Lyle Lovett and Cole Porter.
—Del Mar Foundation, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 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 20 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fiddle
1 of 2 noun
fid·dle
ˈfid-ᵊl
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