1
: violin
2
: a device (such as a slat, rack, or light railing) to keep objects from sliding off a table aboard ship
3
: fiddlesticks
—used as an interjection
4
fiddled; fiddling
ˈfid-liŋ 
ˈfi-dᵊl-iŋ
1
: to play on a fiddle
1
: to play (something) on a fiddle
fiddle a tune
3
: to alter or manipulate deceptively for fraudulent gain
accountants fiddling the books—
Stanley Cohen
Stanley CohenSynonyms
Noun
- applesauce [slang]
- balderdash
- baloney
- boloney
- beans
- bilge
- blah
- blah-blah
- blarney
- blather
- blatherskite
- blither
- bosh
- bull [slang]
- bunk
- bunkum
- buncombe
- claptrap
- codswallop [British]
- crapola [slang]
- crock
- drivel
- drool
- fiddle-faddle
- fiddlesticks
- flannel [British]
- flapdoodle
- folderol
- falderal
- folly
- foolishness
- fudge
- garbage
- guff
- hogwash
- hokeypokey
- hokum
- hoodoo
- hooey
- horsefeathers [slang]
- humbug
- humbuggery
- jazz
- malarkey
- malarky
- moonshine
- muck
- nerts [slang]
- nonsense
- nuts
- piffle
- poppycock
- punk
- rot
- rubbish
- senselessness
- silliness
- slush
- stupidity
- taradiddle
- tarradiddle
- tommyrot
- tosh
- trash
- trumpery
- twaddle
Verb
Examples of fiddle in a Sentence
Noun
an expert with the fiddle
arrested for a tax fiddle
Verb
Nero fiddled while Rome burned.
the executive fiddled with a pen as she impatiently waited for the meeting to begin
Recent Examples on the WebRobert Sullivan, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Elders played fiddle and mandolin in Strait's band since 1984.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2024
Ron Berti Orlando While Trump fiddles, Biden governs While the media, political pundits, and all manner of talking heads obsess over every tweet, comment and court proceeding of Donald Trump, President Joe Biden goes about the business of being head of state.
—Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2024
Plenty of other moments rely on Mitski’s Patsy Cline inclinations to a far subtler degree, although the amount of pedal steel, fiddle and accordion played by Nashville alt-country veteran Fats Kaplan, the ace in her seven-piece band, is telltale about where this round of influences lies.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
Using her angelic voice and signature fiddle, Krauss impresses the entire crowd including Parton, who was an award recipient that year.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
The crooner revealed on social media Thursday that his Ace in the Hole Band fiddle player, Gene Elders, died just hours after his manager of 45 years, Erv Woolsey.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2024
The renowned bluegrass artist and veteran fiddle virtuoso previously won the accolade in 2019 for his album, Tall Fiddler.
—Tricia Despres, Peoplemag, 31 Jan. 2024
Sorcha Costello brought the crowd to a standstill with her fiddle, and a massive line of new fans formed to buy both of their CDs, just to support these young talented people and music.
—Lori Nickel, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024
Holland Cotter, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Her mom played guitar and fiddle, and folk and country were household staples.
—Steve Hochman, SPIN, 1 Mar. 2024
Founded in 2011 by Smith and fiddle player Bennett Brown, the five-piece started playing clubs around Sixth Street in Austin, eventually opening for rising stars like Turnpike Troubadours and Texas icons like ZZ Top.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 29 Feb. 2024
For instance, with some fiddling, theorists might find that supernova shock waves can compress smaller gas clouds and help them to collapse into pairs of tiny stars more readily than expected.
—Charlie Wood, WIRED, 31 Dec. 2023
Theo woke to the sound of fiddling and scraping in her room but didn’t take the blanket from over her head.
—Addie Citchens, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
The parties unite behind fiddling, while the nation races off a financial cliff risking bankruptcy in our lifetime.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 2 Feb. 2024
Plus, each one comes with three presets, for those who don’t want to fiddle and just want to rock.
—Spin Contributor, SPIN, 18 Dec. 2023
Editor’s picks Flatland Cavalry is Cordero (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jason Albers (drums, percussion), Jonathan Saenz (bass, background vocals), Reid Dillon (electric guitar), Wesley Hall (fiddle), and Adam Gallegos (keys).
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 2023
Noun
Near the end of February, the overhead bins on flights from Ireland to the U.S. start filling up with fiddles and bouzoukis, as Irish traditional musicians make their seasonal migration across the Atlantic to play during what the players themselves sometimes call St. Patrick’s Month.
—Robert Sullivan, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Elders played fiddle and mandolin in Strait's band since 1984.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2024
Ron Berti Orlando While Trump fiddles, Biden governs While the media, political pundits, and all manner of talking heads obsess over every tweet, comment and court proceeding of Donald Trump, President Joe Biden goes about the business of being head of state.
—Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2024
Plenty of other moments rely on Mitski’s Patsy Cline inclinations to a far subtler degree, although the amount of pedal steel, fiddle and accordion played by Nashville alt-country veteran Fats Kaplan, the ace in her seven-piece band, is telltale about where this round of influences lies.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
Using her angelic voice and signature fiddle, Krauss impresses the entire crowd including Parton, who was an award recipient that year.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
The crooner revealed on social media Thursday that his Ace in the Hole Band fiddle player, Gene Elders, died just hours after his manager of 45 years, Erv Woolsey.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 22 Mar. 2024
The renowned bluegrass artist and veteran fiddle virtuoso previously won the accolade in 2019 for his album, Tall Fiddler.
—Tricia Despres, Peoplemag, 31 Jan. 2024
Sorcha Costello brought the crowd to a standstill with her fiddle, and a massive line of new fans formed to buy both of their CDs, just to support these young talented people and music.
—Lori Nickel, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2024
Verb
These walk-in assemblages encompassed prop-like objects (musical instruments, furniture, masks, rocks, Asian and African textiles), sonic elements (human howls, animal hums, percussive clapping, folk fiddling), videos, prerecorded and live, and at least one live performer, Jonas herself.
—Holland Cotter, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Her mom played guitar and fiddle, and folk and country were household staples.
—Steve Hochman, SPIN, 1 Mar. 2024
Founded in 2011 by Smith and fiddle player Bennett Brown, the five-piece started playing clubs around Sixth Street in Austin, eventually opening for rising stars like Turnpike Troubadours and Texas icons like ZZ Top.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 29 Feb. 2024
For instance, with some fiddling, theorists might find that supernova shock waves can compress smaller gas clouds and help them to collapse into pairs of tiny stars more readily than expected.
—Charlie Wood, WIRED, 31 Dec. 2023
Theo woke to the sound of fiddling and scraping in her room but didn’t take the blanket from over her head.
—Addie Citchens, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
The parties unite behind fiddling, while the nation races off a financial cliff risking bankruptcy in our lifetime.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 2 Feb. 2024
Plus, each one comes with three presets, for those who don’t want to fiddle and just want to rock.
—Spin Contributor, SPIN, 18 Dec. 2023
Editor’s picks Flatland Cavalry is Cordero (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jason Albers (drums, percussion), Jonathan Saenz (bass, background vocals), Reid Dillon (electric guitar), Wesley Hall (fiddle), and Adam Gallegos (keys).
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fiddle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fiddle
Cite this Entry
“Fiddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fiddle. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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fiddle
1 of 2 noun
fid·dle
ˈfid-ᵊl
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