TWIDDLE

twiddle

(noun) a series of small (usually idle) twists or turns

twiddle, fiddle with

(verb) manipulate, as in a nervous or unconscious manner; “He twiddled his thumbs while waiting for the interview”

twirl, swirl, twiddle, whirl

(verb) turn in a twisting or spinning motion; “The leaves swirled in the autumn wind”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

twiddle (third-person singular simple present twiddles, present participle twiddling, simple past and past participle twiddled)

(transitive) To wiggle, fidget or play with; to move around.

(transitive, computing) To flip or switch two adjacent bits (binary digits).

Coordinate term: diddle

(transitive, mathematics) To be in an equivalence relation with.

(intransitive) To play with anything; hence, to be busy about trifles.

Noun

twiddle (plural twiddles)

A slight twist with the fingers.

(Britain, dialectal) A pimple.

A small decorative embellishment.

A small musical flourish.

A tilde.

A drawn line that is curvy or twisted.

A tiny bit

A tizzy

Anagrams

• twidled

Source: Wiktionary


Twid"dle, v. t. Etym: [Probably of imitative origin. Cf. Tweedle.]

Definition: To touch lightly, or play with; to tweedle; to twirl; as, to twiddle one's thumbs; to twiddle a watch key. [Written also twidle.] Thackeray.

Twid"dle, v. i.

Definition: To play with anything; hence, to be busy about trifles. Halliwell.

Twid"dle, n.

1. A slight twist with the fingers.

2. A pimple. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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