fidget

[ fij-it ]

verb (used without object)

1. to move about restlessly, nervously, or impatiently.
2. to play with something in a restless or nervous way; fiddle:

   The boy kept fidgeting with the toy instead of paying attention.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to fidget; make uneasy: He was fidgeted by a hunch that the girl was going to cause trouble.

noun

1. Often fidgets. the condition or an instance of being nervously restless, uneasy, or impatient.
2. Also fidgeter. a person who fidgets.

fidget

/ ˈfɪdʒɪt /

verb

1. intr to move about restlessly
2. introften foll bywith to make restless or uneasy movements (with something); fiddle

   he fidgeted with his pen

3. tr to cause to fidget
4. tr to cause to worry; make uneasy

noun

1. often plural a state of restlessness or unease, esp as expressed in continual motion

   he's got the fidgets

2. a person who fidgets

Derived Forms

• ˈfidgetingly, adverb
• ˈfidgety, adjective

Other Words From

• fidg·et·ing·ly adverb
• un·fidg·et·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fidget¹

First recorded in 1665–75; compare dialectal fidge “to fidget,” akin to the synonymous expressive words fitch, fig, fike; compare Old Norse fīkjast “to be eager,” Old Swedish fīkja “to be restless”

Word History and Origins

Origin of fidget¹

C17: from earlier fidge , probably from Old Norse fīkjast to desire eagerly

Example Sentences

“Maybe it’s not crazy loud at the beginning? Maybe if somebody needs to take out a fidget ... to be more calm, then that’s OK?”

From Los Angeles Times

Hours before Mulaney appeared Monday on “Late Night,” Munn shared a video of her husband and their child doing the “exact same fidget” with their hands.

From Los Angeles Times

And to cope with these health care shortcomings, more people are turning to influencers, who tend to promote nonpharmaceutical products and practices of their own: fidget toys, gratitude journals, ice baths, and the like.

From Slate

For instance, dogs that are frightened may attempt to flee, fight, fret and fidget, or freeze.

From Los Angeles Times

But his interest in business began when he was 14 and he created a magnetic fidget toy called Stax, which sold online and in local shops.

From BBC

Related Words

• fret
• jiggle
• squirm
• twiddle
• twitch