Fiddle away Meaning in English
expression
ˈfɪdəɫ/ /əˈweɪ
FID-uhl uh-WAY
fˈɪdəl/ /ɐwˈeɪ
FID-uhl uh-WAY
Definition
To waste time or money on unimportant things, often without noticing how much is lost.
Usage & Nuances
Somewhat informal. Commonly paired with 'time' or 'money', e.g.: 'fiddle away the afternoon.' Implies a sense of waste through idleness or distraction, not through intentional spending.
Spanish: malgastar - perder el tiempoPortuguese (BR): desperdiçar - perder tempoPortuguese (PT): desperdiçar - perder tempoChinese (Simplified): 浪费掉 - 虚度（时间）Chinese (Traditional): 浪費掉 - 虛度（時間）Hindi: बर्बाद करना - समय गँवानाArabic: يضيّع - يهدر الوقتBengali: অপচয় করা - সময় নষ্ট করাRussian: проматывать - тратить впустуюJapanese: 無駄にする - 時間を浪費するVietnamese: lãng phí - phung phí thời gianKorean: 낭비하다 - 허비하다Turkish: boşa harcamak - vakit kaybetmekUrdu: ضائع کرنا - فضول میں وقت گزارناIndonesian: membuang-buang - menyia-nyiakan waktu
Example Sentences
He fiddled away all his free time watching TV.
basic
Try not to fiddle away your money on things you don't need.
basic
It's easy to fiddle away an hour on your phone without noticing.
basic
He tends to fiddle away his weekends doing nothing important.
natural
You don't want to fiddle away your youth—make the most of it!
natural
I realized I had fiddled away half the day just browsing the internet.
natural