Fid
name, noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A pointed tool without any sharp edges, used in weaving or knotwork to tighten and form up weaves or complex knots; used in sailing ships to open the strands of a rope before splicing.
- 2 A British worker with the British Antarctic Survey. slang
"The British use the term “fidlets”, a diminutive of “Fid”, which in turn is an acronym for Falkland Island Dependencies, the former name of the British Antarctic Survey."
- 3 Initialism of functional iron deficiency. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
- 4 A square bar of wood or iron, with a shoulder at one end, to support the weight of the topmast (on a ship).
- 5 A plug of oakum for the vent of a gun.
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A small thick piece of anything.
"Four — dreadfully unclad — men, carefully oiled, to protect their skin against the great heat, are moving about with long iron spoons, stirring here and mixing there, or kneading into little fids various compounds of coarse sugar and rancid butter […]"
- 7 A wooden or metal bar or pin, used to support or steady anything.
- 8 The penis. slang
- 1 To support a topmast using a fid.
- 1 A mountain peak in Graham Land, Antarctica.
Example
More examples"Four — dreadfully unclad — men, carefully oiled, to protect their skin against the great heat, are moving about with long iron spoons, stirring here and mixing there, or kneading into little fids various compounds of coarse sugar and rancid butter […]"
Etymology
Origin unknown.
From FIDS (“Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey”), a former name of the British Antarctic Survey.
From fid due to its shape.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.