Fiddle about
verb
To spend time in a non-productive manner, usually involving small tasks or idle activities.
He spent the whole afternoon fiddling about in his garden.
Often appears as...
- fiddle about with something
- fiddle about in the garden
verb
To manipulate or adjust something in a way that is considered unnecessary or over-complicated.
Don't fiddle about with the settings on your phone too much, you might mess something up.
Often appears as...
- fiddle about with settings
- fiddle about with controls
verb
To spend time in a non-productive manner, usually involving small tasks or idle activities.
He spent the whole afternoon fiddling about in his garden.
Often appears as...
- fiddle about with something
- fiddle about in the garden
verb
To manipulate or adjust something in a way that is considered unnecessary or over-complicated.
Don't fiddle about with the settings on your phone too much, you might mess something up.
Often appears as...
- fiddle about with settings
- fiddle about with controls
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Leisurely Context
Used when describing leisure activities that lack a clear goal or purpose.
On my day off, I just fiddled about with some old books.
Pro Tip 2/3Time Passing
Implies the passage of time doing trivial tasks rather than something substantial.
She fiddled about with her jewelry for hours.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Negative
Although it refers to non-productive time, it's often not used in a negative sense.
We fiddled about with the paint samples before deciding.
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