fiddle with
phrasal verb
fiddled with; fiddling with; fiddles with
1
: to move or handle (something) with the hands or fingers in a nervous way
She was nervously fiddling with her pencil as she waited for the test to start.
2
: to change or handle (something, such as the controls of a machine) in a way that shows one is not sure what to do
He was fiddling with the controls of the television, trying to get it to work.
3
: to change (something) in a harmful or foolish way
It became clear that someone had fiddled with the equipment.
Examples of fiddle with in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
He’s taken his watch off and is fiddling with it in his hands, eager again to get behind the wheel and zip through the desert’s dust.
—
Christopher Kamrani, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
The boy—his skin brown, his fingernails clipped short, with a buzz cut and a Puma hoodie—sits fiddling with a pencil.
—Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2024
Wisconsin is home to the first school voucher program of the modern era, and over the years, legislators have tweaked and fiddled with it.
—Peter Greene, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
You’ll be impressed by how much just fiddling with the power settings improves your microwaved food, but there are a couple other ways to ensure consistently delicious outcomes, says Yeung.
—Audrey Bruno, SELF, 14 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fiddle with 
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Christopher Kamrani, The Athletic, 31 July 2024
The boy—his skin brown, his fingernails clipped short, with a buzz cut and a Puma hoodie—sits fiddling with a pencil.
—Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2024
Wisconsin is home to the first school voucher program of the modern era, and over the years, legislators have tweaked and fiddled with it.
—Peter Greene, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
You’ll be impressed by how much just fiddling with the power settings improves your microwaved food, but there are a couple other ways to ensure consistently delicious outcomes, says Yeung.
—Audrey Bruno, SELF, 14 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fiddle with
Dictionary Entries Near fiddle with
Cite this Entry
“Fiddle with.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiddle%20with. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.
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