The meaning of Fiddle

verb

Change in character or composition, typically in a comparatively small but significant way.

Usage examples:

Eliot was persuaded to alter the passage

verb

To change a characteristic, often slightly, or to cause this to happen

Usage examples:

[ t ] the coat was too long, so i took it back to the store to have it altered., some things in lif…

verb

To change the appearance, character, or structure of something, or to be changed in this way

Usage examples:

Just last week, the company agreed to alter some of its business practices., if they want to contin…

noun

A bass instrument of the violin family, held upright on the floor between the legs of the seated player.

Usage examples:

On this recording, there are nine violins, three violas, three cellos, a double bass, one flute, th…

verb

Prepare (food, a dish, or a meal) by mixing, combining, and heating the ingredients.

Usage examples:

Shall i cook dinner tonight?

noun

A person who prepares and cooks food, especially as a job or in a specified way.

Usage examples:

Susan was a school cook

noun

Transform by heating

verb

Cheat or swindle (someone) so as to deprive them of something.

Usage examples:

He thought he'd been diddled out of his change

verb

To get money from someone in a way that is not honest

Usage examples:

He diddled me! he said that there were six in a bag, but there were only five., i checked the bill …

verb

Pull or twist out of shape.

Usage examples:

A grimace distorted her mouth

verb

To change something from its natural or usual shape or condition

Usage examples:

Agony distorted his face., there are those who would distort the facts to serve their own political…

verb

To change something from its original, natural, or intended meaning, condition, or shape, especially in a negative way

Usage examples:

Governments are able to maintain discriminatory procurement practices which significantly distort t…

noun

A person who is qualified to treat people who are ill.

Usage examples:

Doctor thornhill

verb

Change the content or appearance of (a document or picture) in order to deceive; falsify.

Usage examples:

The reports could have been doctored

noun

A person with a medical degree whose job is to treat people who are ill or injured

Usage examples:

This health plan lets you choose your own doctor., he claimed the photo had been doctored.

verb

Alter (information, a document, or evidence) so as to mislead.

Usage examples:

A laboratory which was alleged to have falsified test results

verb

To change documents, figures, records, etc. in order to deceive someone

Usage examples:

She was charged with falsifying bank records., the certificate had clearly been falsified., five pe…

verb

Be aware of (a person or object) through touching or being touched.

Usage examples:

She felt someone touch her shoulder

noun

An act of touching something to examine it.

Usage examples:

I let him have a feel of my hair and kept saying ‘it's a bit of a shock, isn't it?’ (must have been…

verb

Be conscious of a physical, mental, or emotional state

verb

Make small movements, especially of the hands and feet, through nervousness or impatience.

Usage examples:

The audience began to fidget and whisper

noun

A person who fidgets.

Usage examples:

He was also a bit of a fidget, i'd observed him earlier in the day spending a good 30 minutes clear…

verb

To make continuous small movements because you are uncomfortable or bored

Usage examples:

Children can’t sit still for long without fidgeting.

verb

Obtain by dishonest or devious means.

Usage examples:

Ted attended all the football games he could finagle tickets for

verb

To get something by using an indirect method

Usage examples:

[ t ] how can i finagle a place on the guest list for the big party?

noun

Each of the four slender jointed parts attached to either hand (or five, if the thumb is included).

Usage examples:

She raked her hair back with her fingers

verb

Touch or feel with the fingers.

Usage examples:

The thin man fingered his moustache

verb

Any of the terminal members of the hand

verb

Fasten (something) securely in a particular place or position.

Usage examples:

They had candles fixed to their helmets

noun

A difficult or awkward situation from which it is hard to extricate oneself; a predicament.

Usage examples:

How on earth did you get into such a fix?

verb

Restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken

noun

Nonsensical or insincere talk.

Usage examples:

Pseudo-intellectual flimflam

verb

Swindle (someone) with a confidence trick.

Usage examples:

The tribe was flimflammed out of its land

noun

Talk that is confusing and intended to deceive

noun

Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.

Usage examples:

He was convicted of fraud

noun

The crime of obtaining money or property by deceiving people

Usage examples:

Convicted of tax fraud, he was sentenced to two years in prison., he says he’s been everywhere and …

noun

The crime of getting money by tricking or deceiving people, or a crime of this type

Usage examples:

Serious/massive fraud we only investigate when there are sufficient grounds for believing serious f…

noun

A display of unnecessary or excessive excitement, activity, or interest.

Usage examples:

I don't know what all the fuss is about

verb

Show unnecessary or excessive concern about something.

Usage examples:

She's always fussing about her food

verb

Feel or manipulate with the hands.

Usage examples:

Heavy paving slabs can be difficult to handle

noun

The part by which a thing is held, carried, or controlled.

Usage examples:

A holdall with two carrying handles

verb

Touch, lift, or hold

verb

Continuously toss into the air and catch (a number of objects) so as to keep at least one in the air while handling the others.

Usage examples:

Charles juggled five tangerines, his hands a frantic blur

noun

An act of juggling.

Usage examples:

Life's a juggle, and you make the choices that suit your life.

verb

To throw several objects into the air, catch them, and keep them moving so that at least one is always in the air

Usage examples:

[ t ] fig. many women find it hard to juggle a family and a career (= to arrange their lives so tha…

noun

A set of articles or equipment needed for a specific purpose.

Usage examples:

A first-aid kit

verb

Provide someone or something with the appropriate clothing or equipment.

Usage examples:

We were all kitted out in life jackets

noun

The young of certain animals, such as the beaver, ferret, and mink.

Usage examples:

Since 1997, 110 black-footed ferret kits have been released on the site.

verb

Handle or control (a tool, mechanism, information, etc.) in a skilful manner.

Usage examples:

He manipulated the dials of the set

verb

Influence or control shrewdly or deviously

verb

To influence or control someone to your advantage, often without that person knowing it

Usage examples:

Her success is partly due to her ability to manipulate the media., the wheelchair is designed to be…

noun

The rubbing and kneading of muscles and joints of the body with the hands, especially to relieve tension or pain.

Usage examples:

Massage can ease tiredness

verb

Rub and knead (a person or part of the body) with the hands.

Usage examples:

She massaged his tired muscles

verb

Kneading and rubbing parts of the body

phrasal verb

To treat someone badly

Usage examples:

I'm tired of being messed around by my bank., don't mess me about!

verb

Give a false or misleading account of the nature of.

Usage examples:

You are misrepresenting what i said

verb

To represent something or someone falsely, often in order to obtain an advantage

Usage examples:

He misrepresented facts about his legal experience on his application.

verb

To give false information about something or someone, often in order to get an advantage

Usage examples:

She believes that the defendant's lawyers misrepresented the situation., be misrepresented (by sb/i…

noun

An animal's foot having claws and pads.

Usage examples:

The feet of the throne are modeled after large catlike paws without claws.

verb

(of an animal) feel or scrape with a paw or hoof.

Usage examples:

The horse rose up, its forelegs pawing the air

verb

A clawed foot of an animal, especially a quadruped

verb

Distort or corrupt the original course, meaning, or state of (something).

Usage examples:

He was charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice

noun

A person whose sexual behaviour is regarded as abnormal and unacceptable.

verb

To change something from its correct use or original purpose

Usage examples:

These journalists are perverting the news., the will of the people is being perverted by their elec…

verb

Engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.

Usage examples:

The children were playing by a pool

noun

Activity engaged in for enjoyment and recreation, especially by children.

Usage examples:

A child at play may use a stick as an aeroplane

verb

Engage in recreational activities rather than work

noun

A bat with a round or oval frame strung with catgut, nylon, etc., used especially in tennis, badminton, and squash.

Usage examples:

A squash racket

verb

Make or move with a loud unpleasant noise.

Usage examples:

Trains racketed by

noun

An object consisting of a net fixed tightly to an oval frame with a long handle, used in various sports for hitting a ball

Usage examples:

A tennis/squash racket, who’s making such a racket?

verb

Provide (a sailing boat) with sails and rigging.

Usage examples:

The catamaran will be rigged as a ketch

noun

The particular way in which a sailing boat's masts, sails, and rigging are arranged.

Usage examples:

A ketch rig

noun

A trick or swindle.

noun

An action intended to deceive someone; a trick.

Usage examples:

Emma tried to think of a ruse to get paul out of the house

proper noun

An industrial city and the principal port of bulgaria, on the river danube; population 156,959 (2008). turkish during the middle ages, it was captured by russia in 1877 and ceded to bulgaria.

noun

A small sharp-pointed organ at the end of the abdomen of bees, wasps, ants, and scorpions, capable of inflicting a painful or dangerous wound by injecting poison.

Usage examples:

The poor fellow has neither the tusks of the elephant, nor the claws of the lion, nor even the horn…

verb

Wound or pierce with a sting.

Usage examples:

He was stung by a jellyfish

verb

(esp. of insects, plants, and animals) to produce a small but painful injury by making a very small hole in the skin

Usage examples:

[ i ] why do bees sting?, [ t ] cold air stung jack’s lungs., [ i ] the soap made his eyes sting., …

verb

Use deception to deprive (someone) of money or possessions.

Usage examples:

A businessman swindled investors out of millions of pounds

noun

A fraudulent scheme or action.

Usage examples:

He is mixed up in a £10 million insurance swindle

verb

To cheat or trick someone in order to get money from them

Usage examples:

Swindle sb out of sth a web-based company swindled customers out of $15 million., victims of the sw…

noun

The short, thick first digit of the human hand, set lower and apart from the other four and opposable to them.

Usage examples:

The most commonly affected digits are the thumb and index finger.

verb

Press, move, or touch (something) with one's thumb.

Usage examples:

As soon as she thumbed the button, the door slid open

noun

The short finger that is at an angle to the other fingers

Usage examples:

How did you cut your thumb?

verb

Come into or be in contact with.

Usage examples:

He leaned back so that only two legs of his chair touched the floor

noun

An act of touching someone or something.

Usage examples:

Her touch on his shoulder was hesitant

verb

Make physical contact with, come in contact with

noun

An object for a child to play with, typically a model or miniature replica of something.

Usage examples:

A toy car

verb

Move or handle (an object) absent-mindedly or nervously.

Usage examples:

Alan toyed with his glasses

noun

An object that children play with

Usage examples:

A stuffed toy, a toy train/soldier, a toy poodle

noun

A thing of little value or importance.

Usage examples:

We needn't trouble the headmaster over such trifles

verb

Treat without seriousness or respect.

Usage examples:

He is not a man to be trifled with

noun

A matter or item of little value or importance

Usage examples:

He admits to being a trifle nervous before every show., it was such a trifling sum of money to argu…

verb

Twist, move, or fiddle with (something), typically in a purposeless or nervous way.

Usage examples:

She twiddled the dials on the radio

noun

An act of twisting or fiddling with something.

Usage examples:

One twiddle of a button

verb

To move something about between your fingers without giving it your attention

Usage examples:

She kept twiddling her necklace.

noun

An instrument of the violin family, larger than the violin and tuned a fifth lower.

Usage examples:

Among the strings, there are twelve violins, two violas, four cellos, and two double basses.

noun

A plant of a genus that includes the pansies and violets.

Usage examples:

It may be a little early to start summer annuals, but pansies, violas, snapdragons, calendulas and …

noun

A wooden musical instrument with four strings, slightly larger than a violin, which a player holds against his or her neck and plays with a bow (= stick with hairs attached to it), or this type of instrument generally

noun

A stringed musical instrument of treble pitch, played with a horsehair bow. the classical european violin was developed in the 16th century. it has four strings and a body of characteristic rounded shape, narrowed at the middle and with two f-shaped soundholes.

Usage examples:

Oboes, flutes and violins flutter over acoustic guitar, the foundation of most songs on this cd.

noun

A small, wooden musical instrument with four strings that a player holds against his or her neck and plays with a bow (= stick with hairs attached to it), or this type of instrument generally

verb

Manage to obtain (something) by persuading or cleverly manipulating someone.

Usage examples:

I wangled an invitation to her party

noun

An act or an instance of obtaining something by persuasion or clever manipulation.

Usage examples:

A rather clever wangle on the part of some of the folk at the office

noun

Devious or cunning stratagems employed in manipulating or persuading someone to do what one wants.

Usage examples:

She didn't employ any feminine wiles to capture his attention

verb

Lure; entice.

Usage examples:

She could be neither driven nor wiled into the parish kirk

adjective

Very bad; terrible.

Usage examples:

He was wile when he was young