twiddle

Word family

twid·dle /ˈtwɪdl/ verb

1 twiddle your thumbs informal to do nothing while you are waiting for something to happen 百无聊赖〔等某事发生〕

Let’s go – there’s no point in sitting here twiddling our thumbs.

我们走吧——坐在这儿干等没有用。

Examples from the Corpus

twiddle your thumbs• I sat there and twiddled my thumbs.• The rest of us could just sit and twiddle our thumbs and drink iced coffee.• Till then, its quarry sat twiddling his thumbs and not quite smirking.

2 TURN[intransitiveI, transitiveT] to move or turn something around with your fingers many times, especially because you are nervous or bored 〔尤因紧张或无聊用手指〕捻弄，摆弄

twiddle with

She was twiddling with her earrings.

她在摆弄她的耳环。

—twiddle noun [countableC]

Examples from the Corpus

twiddle• He was twiddling a piece of cork and sucking on his empty pipe.• He was twiddling his fingers and looking pleased with himself.• Till then, its quarry sat twiddling his thumbs and not quite smirking.• I sat there and twiddled my thumbs.• The rest of us could just sit and twiddle our thumbs and drink iced coffee.• The world got clearer, as if some one were twiddling the focus of her retinae.• He kept twiddling the knobs on the radio trying to get a signal.• Somehow it sounds even more so coming from a ballerina sitting in full-length black mink coat and twiddling with diamond earrings.• He looked away and began twiddling with the curtain cord.

Origin twiddle

(1500-1600) Probably copying the action

twid·dle verb

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus