Fidget

noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·2 syllables ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A nervous wriggling or twitching motion.
  2. 2
    a feeling of agitation expressed in continual motion wordnet
  3. 3
    A person who fidgets, especially habitually. informal
  4. 4
    An object intended to be fidgeted with (such as a tool or toy).
Verb
  1. 1
    To wiggle or twitch; to move the body, especially the fingers, around nervously or idly. intransitive

    ""Look, Jim, how my fingers fidget," he continued, in the pleading tone. "I can't keep e'm still, not I.""

  2. 2
    move restlessly wordnet
  3. 3
    To cause to fidget; to make uneasy. transitive

    "“Do I fidget you ?” he asked apologetically, whilst his long bony fingers buried themselves, string, knots, and all, into the capacious pockets of his magnificent tweed ulster."

Synonyms

All synonyms
chafecoquetdabbledallyditherfiddle

Example

More examples

"Herzl waited in the dimly lit room. At times he would fidget restlessly in boredom."

Etymology

From fidge (“to fidget”) + *-et (frequentative ending), possibly from Middle English *-ten, from Old English -ettan.

Related phrases

fidget piefidget spinnerfidget stonefidget toyfidget-bottomfidget-spinning

More for "fidget"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.