diddle

UK: /ˈdɪd^əl/ US: /ˈdɪdəl/ ,(did′l)

Inflections of 'diddle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

diddles

v 3rd person singular

diddling

v pres p

diddled

v past

diddled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

did•dle¹ /ˈdɪdəl/   v. [~ + object] , -dled, -dling. 

1. [Informal.] to cheat;
   take money from unlawfully or dishonestly;
   swindle.

did•dler, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

did•dle¹  (did′l), v.t., -dled, -dling. 

1. [Informal.] to cheat;
   swindle;
   hoax.

• perh. special use of diddle² 1800–10

did′dler, n. 

did•dle²  (did′l), v., -dled, -dling. 
v.i. 

1. [Informal.] to toy;
   fool (usually fol. by with):
   The kids have been diddling with the controls on the television set again.
2. to waste time;
   dawdle (often fol. by around):
   You would be finished by now if you hadn't spent the morning diddling around.
3. [Informal.] to move back and forth with short rapid motions.

v.t. 

4. [Informal.] to move back and forth with short rapid motions;
   jiggle:
   Diddle the switch and see if the light comes on.
5. [Slang.]
   • to copulate with.
   • to practice masturbation upon.

• 1800–10; expressive coinage, perh. origin, originally in the Siamese twins diddle-diddle, diddle-daddle; compare dodder¹, doodle¹

did′dler, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

diddle / ˈdɪd^əl/ verb

1. (transitive) to cheat or swindle
2. (intransitive)
   an obsolete word for dawdle

Etymology: 19th Century: back formation from Jeremy Diddler, a scrounger in J. Kenney's farce Raising the Wind (1803)

ˈdiddler noun