diddle
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did·dle 1
(dĭd′l)tr.v. did·dled, did·dling, did·dles
Slang To cheat; swindle: "The Swiss have special laws for people who diddle hotels" (John le Carré).
[Perhaps akin to Old English dydrian, to deceive, or from variant of dialectal doodle, fool, simpleton; akin to Low German dudeldopp.]
did′dler n.
did·dle 2
(dĭd′l)v. did·dled, did·dling, did·dles
v.tr.
1. To jerk up and down or back and forth.
2. Vulgar Slang
a. To have intercourse with (a woman).
b. To practice masturbation upon.
v.intr.
1. To shake rapidly; jiggle.
2. Slang To play experimentally; toy: The children diddled with the knobs on the television all afternoon.
3. Slang To waste time: diddled around all morning.
[Probably alteration of dialectal didder, to quiver, tremble, from Middle English dideren, variant of daderen, doderen; see dodder1.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
diddle
(ˈdɪdəl)vb
1. (tr) to cheat or swindle
2. (intr) an obsolete word for dawdle
[C19: back formation from Jeremy Diddler, a scrounger in J. Kenney's farce Raising the Wind (1803)]
ˈdiddler n
diddle
(ˈdɪdəl)vb
dialect to jerk (an object) up and down or back and forth; shake rapidly
[C17: probably variant of doderen to tremble, totter; see dodder1]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
did•dle1
(ˈdɪd l)v.t. -dled, -dling.
Informal. to cheat; swindle.
[1800–10; of uncertain orig.]
did′dler, n.
did•dle2
(ˈdɪd l)v. -dled, -dling. v.i. Informal.
1. to toy; fool: diddling with the controls.
2. to waste time (often fol. by around).
3. to move back and forth with short rapid motions.
v.t. 4. Dial. to move back and forth rapidly; jiggle.
did′dler, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
diddle
Past participle: diddled
Gerund: diddling
| Imperative |
|---|
| diddle |
| diddle |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. |  diddle - deprive of by deceit; "He swindled me out of my inheritance"; "She defrauded the customers who trusted her"; "the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change"bunco, con, defraud, goldbrick, hornswoggle, mulct, nobble, rook, scam, swindle, short-change, victimize short, short-change - cheat someone by not returning him enough money |
| 2. |  diddle - manipulate manually or in one's mind or imagination; "She played nervously with her wedding ring"; "Don't fiddle with the screws"; "He played with the idea of running for the Senate"manipulate - hold something in one's hands and move it |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
diddle 1
verbdiddle 2
verbThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
übers Ohr hauen
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
diddle
[ˈdɪdəl] vt (mainly British) (= con) → rouler
vi (US) to diddle with sth (= fiddle) → tripatouiller qch
to diddle around (= waste time) → traînasser
to diddle around (= waste time) → traînasser
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
diddle
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995