twiddling
Use Twiddling in a sentence
l verb (used with object)
1.
to turn about or play with lightly or idly, especially with the fingers; twirl.
verb (used without object)
2.
to play or trifle idly with something; fiddle.
3.
to turn about lightly; twirl.
noun
Idioms 4.
the act of twiddling; turn; twirl.
5.
twiddle one's thumbs, to do nothing; be idle: Business was slack, and the salespeople were twiddling their thumbs.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To twiddling
00:10
Twiddling
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
twiddle (ˈtwɪdəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb (when intr, | |
| 1. | to twirl or fiddle (with), often in an idle way |
| 2. | to do nothing; be unoccupied |
| 3. | (intr) to turn, twirl, or rotate |
| 4. | rare (intr) to be occupied with trifles |
| —n | |
| 5. | an act or instance of twiddling |
| [C16: probably a blend of | |
| 'twiddler | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
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
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Example sentences from the web
In the heat, it capers, twiddling its fingers and singing an old song.
Matching Quote
Related Searches
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
