piddling

[ pid-ling ]

adjective

1. amounting to very little; trifling; negligible:

   a piddling sum of money.

   Synonyms: picayune, paltry, insignificant, trivial

piddling

/ ˈpɪdlɪŋ /

adjective

1. informal.
   petty; trifling; trivial

Derived Forms

• ˈpiddlingly, adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of piddling¹

First recorded in 1550–60; piddle + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Yet on a comparative basis, they are piddling.

From New York Times

Mencken points out that he’s not especially successful, that his business is “petty and piddling,” and to think of him as a leader is completely misguided.

From Los Angeles Times

It also would have reduced Hiroshima and Nagasaki to a piddling afterthought; Nolan treats them instead as a profound absence, an indictment by silence.

From Los Angeles Times

We loved her when she was open and raw, giving unflinchingly monologues on small stages she often ran onto, with piddling crowds she had to win over.

From Salon

You would hate for a piddling matter such as Augusta weather to get in the way of that.

From Washington Post