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piddle

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piddle¹

  • /ˈpɪd.l̩/ UK
  • /ˈpɪdəl/ US
  • /ˈpɪd.l̩/ US

Rhymes with -ɪdl, -ɪdəl

Where it comes from

Unknown. Compare regional German piddlen, pitteln, pütteln, pühteln (“to pick at something, pick at one's food”), dialectal German Pitzel (“small effort, small task”). Alternatively, perhaps originally from paw or put + -le (suffix forming verbs involving continuous or repeated movement). In later use, a euphemistic diminutive of piss, though not directly related to it. The noun derives from the verb.

noun piddles · piddel · pidle

  1. Australia, UK, euphemistic, slang Piss: urine. The spunk with his piddle comes bubbling.

    Similar: widdle

  2. Australia, UK, euphemistic, slang A piss: an act of urination. Piddle, urine; occ. the act of making water.

    Similar: widdle

  3. UK, figuratively Nonsense or a trivial matter. It's the alteration of the little words that makes all the difference between Poetry & piddle.

verb piddles · piddling · piddled · piddel · pidle

  1. intransitive (Often followed by about or around): to act or work ineffectually and wastefully. […] neuer ceaſinge piddeling about theyr bowe and ſhaftes, when they be well, […]
  2. intransitive, obsolete Synonym of peck: to attack or eat with a beak. As [Mahomet] was preaching... there commeth a doue flying towards him, & alighteth vpon his shoulder, and pidleth in his eare, looking for meate, hauing vsed her before to feede in his eare for the same purpose.

    Similar: peck

  3. Southern US, intransitive, often, with 'with' Synonym of nibble: to pick at or toy with one's food, to eat slowly or insubstantially. Diseases... that make them eate nothing at all, or else they doe but piddle and trifle.

    Similar: nibble

  4. Australia, Namibia, South Africa, UK, euphemistic, intransitive To urinate. Ha, ha, ha, Paddy shit in his breaches, ha, ha, ha, I shall laugh till I piddle myself.

    Similar: widdle

Piddle²

Where it comes from

Unknown, but probably an Anglo-Saxon word for small watercourse, as several Piddles have been found in England. One source says it comes from Old English pidele (“marsh or fen”). The word predates the modern noun or verb piddle.

proper noun

  1. A small river in Dorset, England.
  2. A brook in Worcestershire, England.

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Cite this
MLA

"piddle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/piddle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

piddle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/piddle

Chicago

"piddle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/piddle.

BibTeX
@misc{piddle_2026,
  title = {piddle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/piddle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}