fidget

She likes to buy Xander squishy or fidget toys that are often aimed at children who have anxiety as they can act as "a distraction or a release".

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Six people reveal what’s in their compact bags of calming tools, including fidget toys, sour candies and a rosary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Kids call them fidget toys or stress balls.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

That approach, she said, helped Five Below take advantage of the current craze for “squishy dumplings” — the latest popular fidget toy that the retailer has managed to cash in on.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 18, 2026

The longer they stared at me, the harder it became to not fidget.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

He fidgets with a pair of eyeglasses and points a knobby index finger to underscore a point, jiggles his leg restlessly and, at one point, mimes playing guitar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

The story is simple: The dad flusters, fidgets and whines; the girl gobbles room service as though aspiring to become human foie gras.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

He fidgets endlessly with his hands as if trying to rub out the scars.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2023

Sebastian Roelandse fidgets with headphones and bashfully whispers, “‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid.’”

From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2022

He fidgets in the lap of his honorary uncle, who sits on a bedcover on the floor, surrounded by guests in front and behind and beside him.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

One fidgeted with a glass; the other observed me with a curious half-smile.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

No-one fidgeted or glanced at their smartphones, as Eva explained she had the number A-26959 tattooed in blue ink on her arm.

From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2025

Barrois fidgeted with clay, aluminum foil, phone wires, even old chewing gum pulled from the bottom of church pews, twisting each material into tiny drivers for his cars.

From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2024

He sat, he stood, he fidgeted, he paced in the emptying hallway.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2024

They both fidgeted nervously during the course of their deceitful narrative, trying desperately not to contradict one another, while at the same time avoiding the cold impassive eye of the Warlord.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Dubois - twitching his shoulders, stretching his neck and constantly fidgeting - insisted the "talking was done", while Wardley rolled his eyes and smiled beside him.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

In the studio and in meetings, Shulman has the restless energy of a kid—pacing around a room or fidgeting with a piano keyboard or bass guitar—combined with the intellectual affect of a quant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026

They can take four minutes on the answer, and people are now fidgeting in the crowd.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2025

The severity of people's aversion to fidgeting varies, she tells me.

From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2024

Poirot, who had been fidgeting slightly, seized his opportunity.

From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie