diddle with

did·dle with

D d

Definitions of diddle with words

verb without object diddle with Informal. to toy; fool (usually followed by with): The kids have been diddling with the controls on the television set again. 1
verb without object diddle with to waste time; dawdle (often followed by around): You would be finished by now if you hadn't spent the morning diddling around. 1
verb without object diddle with Informal. to move back and forth with short rapid motions. 1
verb with object diddle with Informal. to move back and forth with short rapid motions; jiggle: Diddle the switch and see if the light comes on. 1
verb with object diddle with Slang. to copulate with. to practice masturbation upon. 1

before 1800

One of the 42% newest English words

1800-10; expressive coinage, perhaps orig. in the Siamese twins diddle-diddle, diddle-daddle; cf. dodder1, doodle1

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 100% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer