twiddle
verb [intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they twiddle | |
| he / she / it twiddles | |
| past simple twiddled | |
| past participle twiddled | |
| -ing form twiddling |
to twist or turn something with your fingers often because you are nervous or bored （常因紧张或无聊）旋弄，摆弄，捻弄（物件） - twiddle with something
He twiddled with the radio knob until he found the right programme. 他转动了一会儿收音机旋钮才找到了合意的节目。 - twiddle something
She was twiddling the ring on her finger. 她摆弄着手指上的戒指。
Oxford Collocations DictionaryTwiddle is used with these nouns as the object:- finger
- knob
- thumb
- …
Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘trifle’): apparently imitative, combining the notion twirl or twist with that of trifling action expressed by fiddle.- twiddle with something
Idioms
twiddle your thumbs
to move your thumbs around each other with your fingers joined together 抱手旋弄大拇指 to do nothing while you are waiting for something to happen （等待之际）无所事事 We can't just sit here twiddling our thumbs and hoping everything will be all right. 我们不能坐在这里无所事事，希望一切都会好起来。