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piddling

 - 7 dictionary results

pid⋅dling

  [pid-ling]
Use piddling in a Sentence
–adjective
amounting to very little; trifling; negligible: a piddling sum of money.
Origin:
1550–60; piddle + -ing 2

Synonyms:
trivial, insignificant, paltry, picayune.

pid⋅dle

  [pid-l] verb, -dled, -dling.
–verb (used without object)
1. to spend time in a wasteful, trifling, or ineffective way; dawdle (often fol. by around): He wasted the day piddling around.
2. Informal. (esp. of children and pets) to urinate.
–verb (used with object)
3. to waste (time, money, etc.); fail to utilize (usually fol. by away).
Origin:
1535–45; orig. uncert.

Related forms:
piddler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To piddling
pid·dle   (pĭd'l)   
v.   pid·dled, pid·dling, pid·dles

v.   tr.
To use triflingly; squander: piddle away one's time.
v.   intr.

  1. To spend time aimlessly; diddle.

  2. Informal To urinate.


[Origin unknown.]
pid·dling   (pĭd'lĭng)   
adj.  So trifling or trivial as to be beneath one's consideration.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
piddle (around)

  1. in.
    to waste time; to work aimlessly or inefficiently. : Can't you get serious and stop piddling?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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piddling

  1. mod.
    inadequate; meager; tiny. (See also piss-poor; piddle.) : That is a piddling steak. I want a big one.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

piddle 
1545, "to peddle, to work in a trifling way," of uncertain origin, apparently a frequentative form. Meaning "to pick at one's food" is from 1620; that of "urinate" is from 1796. Piddling (adj.) "insignificant, trifling" is from 1559.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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