twid·dle

verb

/ˈtwɪdl/

[intransitive, transitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they twiddle	/ˈtwɪdl/ /ˈtwɪdl/
he / she / it twiddles	/ˈtwɪdlz/ /ˈtwɪdlz/
past simple twiddled	/ˈtwɪdld/ /ˈtwɪdld/
past participle twiddled	/ˈtwɪdld/ /ˈtwɪdld/
-ing form twiddling	/ˈtwɪdlɪŋ/ /ˈtwɪdlɪŋ/

Idioms

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 Dictionary
Twiddle 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.

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.我们不能只是坐在这里无所事事并希望一切都会好起来。

twid·dle

noun

/ˈtwɪdl/

a twist or turn拧；转动
- a twiddle of the knob转动一下旋钮
a feature of a pattern, piece of music, etc. that decorates it（图案等的）修饰性曲线，螺旋形线条；（乐曲的）装饰音
- twiddles on the clarinet单簧管的装饰音

Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘trifle’): apparently imitative, combining the notion twirl or twist with that of trifling action expressed by fiddle.