Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To behave or move nervously or restlessly.
  • intransitive verb To play or fuss; fiddle.
  • intransitive verb To cause to behave or move nervously or restlessly.
  • noun A condition of restlessness as manifested by nervous movements. Often used with the:
  • noun One that fidgets.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To move uneasily one way and the other; move irregularly, or in fits and starts; be restless or uneasy; show impatience or uneasiness by restless movements.
  • To make restless, nervous, or fidgety.
  • noun The expression of uneasiness, restlessness, impatience, etc., by irregular spasmodic movements and changes of physical expression; the condition of feeling thus expressed: commonly in the plural: as, to be in a fidget or the fidgets; to have the fidgets.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Uneasiness; restlessness.
  • noun A general nervous restlessness, manifested by incessant changes of position; dysphoria.
  • intransitive verb To move uneasily one way and the other; to move irregularly, or by fits and starts.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive to wiggle or twitch; to move around nervously or idly
  • noun informal A person who fidgets, especially habitually.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a feeling of agitation expressed in continual motion
  • verb move restlessly

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From obsolete and dialectal fidge, to move restlessly, perhaps from Middle English fiken, of Scandinavian origin.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word fidget.

Examples

  • SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I could be called the fidget diet.

    CNN Transcript Jan 28, 2005 2005

  • There are certain items known as fidget devices and they are designed to help control the need to fidget.

    BellaOnline - The Voice of Women 2009

  • Since the emergence of the so called fidget or fidget house scene, its become some what of an addiction for me to listen tracks of the genre on full fucking volume ALL DAY.

    Hot Artists at Elbo.ws 2009

  • ain't nothing stopping crookers. their remix for kid cudi finally got picked up by the sleepyheads in the industry after they discovered this crazy new thing called fidget-house. in the meantime, crookers are already busy on pushing their sound further and this remix for 'boom da' by mixhell featuring jen lasher and oh snap!! will definitely bring some booty shaking galore to the floors! check it out right here! mixhell - boom da

    DISCODUST 2009

  • One simply doesn't walk around with a firearm in public and "fidget" with it.

    Denver Post: News: Breaking: Local gwats 2010

  • One simply doesn't walk around with a firearm in public and "fidget" with it.

    Denver Post: News: Breaking: Local gwats 2010

  • One simply doesn't walk around with a firearm in public and "fidget" with it.

    Denver Post: News: Breaking: Local gwats 2010

  • But when you are sitting in class or a meeting with pencil and paper in hand, doodling just seems to be the most natural way to "fidget".

    unknown title 2009

  • But when you are sitting in class or a meeting with pencil and paper in hand, doodling just seems to be the most natural way to "fidget".

    unknown title 2009

  • Fidget aprons are great for dementia or Alzheimer's patients, or even people who have had strokes who like to "fidget".

    unknown title 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "Zounds! how she fidgets and spits about like a Catherine wheel."

    Goldsmith, She Stoops, III

    January 11, 2007

  • I'm happy to see this word has nominal forms.

    November 10, 2010