diddle

1
[ did-l ]
See synonyms for: diddlediddler on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),did·dled, did·dling.
  1. Informal. to cheat; swindle; hoax.

Origin of diddle

1
First recorded in 1800–10; perhaps special use of diddle2

Other words from diddle

  • diddler, noun

Words Nearby diddle

Other definitions for diddle (2 of 2)

diddle2
[ did-l ]

verb (used without object),did·dled, did·dling.
  1. Informal. to toy; fool (usually followed by with): The kids have been diddling with the controls on the television set again.

  2. to waste time; dawdle (often followed by around): You would be finished by now if you hadn't spent the morning diddling around.

  1. Informal. to move back and forth with short rapid motions.

verb (used with object),did·dled, did·dling.
  1. Informal. to move back and forth with short rapid motions; jiggle: Diddle the switch and see if the light comes on.

  2. Slang.

    • to copulate with.

    • to practice masturbation upon.

Origin of diddle

2
First recorded in 1800–10; of uncertain origin; perhaps from dialect diddle “to cheat, hoax” or from dialect doodle (in archaic sense) “fool”; cf. diddle1, doodle1 (in senses “to waste time; to deceive”)

Other words from diddle

  • diddler, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use diddle in a sentence

  • Dum-dum-diddle-um-tum-dum-dum-dum-ty-doodle; dum-dum—I say, you don't seem particularly cut up?

  • We all wondered what this could be, for we knew it was not there when diddle went up.

    Old Wonder-Eyes | L. K. Lippincott

British Dictionary definitions for diddle (1 of 2)

diddle1

/ (ˈdɪdəl) /


verbinformal
  1. (tr) to cheat or swindle

  2. (intr) an obsolete word for dawdle

Origin of diddle

1
C19: back formation from Jeremy Diddler, a scrounger in J. Kenney's farce Raising the Wind (1803)

Derived forms of diddle

  • diddler, noun

British Dictionary definitions for diddle (2 of 2)

diddle2

/ (ˈdɪdəl) /


verb
  1. dialect to jerk (an object) up and down or back and forth; shake rapidly

Origin of diddle

2
C17: probably variant of doderen to tremble, totter; see dodder 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012