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twiddle

9 dictionary results for: twiddle

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

twid·dle

[twid-l] Pronunciation Key verb, -dled, -dling, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.	to turn about or play with lightly or idly, esp. with the fingers; twirl.

–verb (used without object)

2.	to play or trifle idly with something; fiddle.

3.	to turn about lightly; twirl.

–noun

4.	the act of twiddling; turn; twirl.

—Idiom

5.	twiddle one's thumbs, to do nothing; be idle: Business was slack, and the salespeople were twiddling their thumbs.

[Origin: 1530–40; perh. b. twitch and fiddle

]

—Related forms

twiddler, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

twid·dle   (twĭd'l) Pronunciation Key
v.   twid·dled, twid·dling, twid·dles

v.   tr.
To turn over or around idly or lightly; fiddle with: "Couples are twiddling swizzle sticks while waiting for their tables" (Bryan Miller).

v.   intr.

To trifle with something.
To be busy about trifles.
To twirl or rotate without purpose.

n. The act or an instance of twiddling.

[Possibly blend of twist and fiddle.]

twid'dler n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
twiddle

c.1540, "to trifle," of unknown origin; of the fingers, first recorded 1676. Fig. phrase twiddle one's thumbs "have nothing to do" is recorded from 1846; to twirl one's thumbs in the same sense is recorded from 1816.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

twiddle
noun
1.	a series of small (usually idle) twists or turns
verb
1.	turn in a twisting or spinning motion; "The leaves swirled in the autumn wind" [syn: twirl]
2.	manipulate, as in a nervous or unconscious manner; "He twiddled his thumbs while waiting for the interview"

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Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

twiddle
1. The tilde character.
2. (To make) a small or insignificant change. E.g. twiddling a program often fixes one bug and generates several new ones (see also shotgun debugging). Bits are often twiddled. Twiddling a switch or knob implies much less sense of purpose than toggling or tweaking it; see frobnicate. Bit twiddling connotes aimlessness, and at best doesn't specify what you're doing to the bit; to "toggle a bit" has a more specific meaning.
[The Jargon File]
(1995-01-31)

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Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This

twiddle

n.
1. Tilde (ASCII 1111110, `~'). Also called `squiggle', `sqiggle' (sic -- pronounced /skig'l/), and `twaddle', but twiddle is the most common term.
2. A small and insignificant change to a program. Usually fixes one bug and generates several new ones (see also shotgun debugging).
3. vt. To change something in a small way. Bits, for example, are often twiddled. Twiddling a switch or knobs implies much less sense of purpose than toggling or tweaking it; see frobnicate. To speak of twiddling a bit connotes aimlessness, and at best doesn't specify what you're doing to the bit; `toggling a bit' has a more specific meaning (see bit twiddling, toggle).
4. Uncommon name for the twirling baton prompt.

Jargon File 4.2.0

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Twiddle

Twid"dle\, v. t. [Probably of imitative origin. Cf. Tweedle.] To touch lightly, or play with; to tweedle; to twirl; as, to twiddle one's thumbs; to twiddle a watch key. [Written also twidle.] --Thackeray.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Twiddle

Twid"dle\, v. i. To play with anything; hence, to be busy about trifles. --Halliwell.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Twiddle

Twid"dle\, n. 1. A slight twist with the fingers.

2. A pimple. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.

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