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| fid·dle [ fídd'l ] |
noun (plural fid·dles) |
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| Definition: |
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1. violin: a musical instrument of the viol or violin family, especially the violin. Violins are often called fiddles in folk, bluegrass, or country music, but in classical music the term is sometimes disparaging.
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2. fraudulent activity: a fraudulent or illegal way of getting money
(
informal
)
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3. trivial matters: nonsensical or trivial matters or behavior
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4. nautical guardrail on ship's table: a small guardrail on top of a table or stove on a ship, used to prevent things from sliding off
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verb (past and past participle fid·dled, present participle fid·dling, 3rd person present singular fid·dles) |
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| Definition: |
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1. intransitive verb tinker: to tinker with something to try to make it work properly
  She fiddled with the controls on the video recorder.
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2. intransitive verb tamper: to interfere, meddle, or tamper with something
(
informal
)
Who's been fiddling with my computer?
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3. intransitive verb move hands nervously: to move the hands or fingers nervously or restlessly, or play with something in the hands in this way
The schoolboy fiddled nervously with his pencil.
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4. intransitive verb play violin: to play the fiddle
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5. transitive verb swindle somebody: to cheat a person or organization
(
informal
)
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6. transitive and intransitive verb waste time: to waste time doing unimportant things
fiddle the day away
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7. transitive verb falsify records: to falsify something such as financial accounts, especially for dishonest personal gain
(
informal
)
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| [Pre-12th century. < medieval Latin vitula "instrument played at festivals" < Latin vitulari "hold celebrations"] |
