wiggle

1 of 2

verb

wig·​gle ˈwi-gəl How to pronounce wiggle (audio)
wiggled; wiggling ˈwi-g(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce wiggle (audio)

intransitive verb

1
: to move to and fro with quick jerky or shaking motions : jiggle
2
: to proceed with or as if with twisting and turning movements : wriggle

transitive verb

: to cause to wiggle

wiggle

2 of 2

noun

1
: the act of wiggling
2
: shellfish or fish in cream sauce with peas
wiggly adjective

Examples of wiggle in a Sentence

Verb The puppy wiggled with excitement. the baby wiggled in her sleep
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Renewable energy now wiggles its way around via pipes cleverly hidden in the eaves. Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Mar. 2024 Overnight, the worms in the samples wiggled to the bottom and collected in the water. Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 In a clip shared on X, the royal wiggled the oversized daffodil wreath a little girl wore around her neck and patted her on the head. Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024 But at the same time, Nicki wants to wiggle her way in bad. Michael Saponara, Billboard, 1 Feb. 2024 Another factor is the uncertainty in the underlying average; an average that wiggles around more would also produce larger deviations. G. Elliott Morris, ABC News, 25 Jan. 2024 In two cases that were active at the time, Carter was holding L.A. County officials’ feet to the fire to extract a commitment for thousands of mental health beds and rebuffing efforts of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to wiggle out of a lawsuit over veterans housing. Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2024 This involves feeling along the bottom with your bare hands and using your wiggling fingers as bait. Outdoor Life, 30 Nov. 2023 Rather, make the fish commit by pinching your worm into smaller pieces, threading it onto the hook, and leaving just enough to wiggle. David A. Brown, Field & Stream, 28 Feb. 2024
Noun
This year, Queen Bey invited the world to come together to release the wiggle in the disco-ball reflection of her record-breaking Renaissance World Tour and its subsequent documentary. EW.com, 14 Dec. 2023 Here are a few classics that will definitely help get the wiggles out: Truth or Dare What's a slumber party without a thrilling game of Truth or Dare? Laura Fenton, Parents, 6 Oct. 2023 Tangent Vector/Porsche Give it a good wiggle in the middle before slotting it into gear. Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 3 Oct. 2023 This results in a curve with many wiggles that can only be pinned down by looking at many points. Michael Greshko, Quanta Magazine, 10 Jan. 2024 There was no synchromesh on the 356's gears, so a leisurely wiggle of the lever while in neutral was required for a smooth shift, but even a Heffalump like me could get that right. Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 3 Oct. 2023 This gentle wiggle at slow speed drove big bass wild, quickly making a black Long A a must-have for late-night surf pursuits. Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 4 Jan. 2024 Detailed wiggles in waves at future observatories might even offer hints about whether the immediate product was a magnetar or a black hole. Quanta Magazine, 13 Dec. 2023 Kids can also get their wiggles and giggles out with the trendy Elmo Slide Singing and Dancing plush toy, on sale for $38. Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 4 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wiggle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English wiglen, from or akin to Middle Dutch or Middle Low German wiggelen to totter; akin to Old English wegan to move — more at way

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1816, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wiggle was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near wiggle

Cite this Entry

“Wiggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wiggle. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wiggle

verb
wig·​gle
ˈwig-əl
wiggled; wiggling
-(ə-)liŋ
1
: to move to and fro with quick jerky or shaking motions : jiggle
wiggled my toes
2
: to move along with twisting and turning movements : wriggle
wiggle noun

More from Merriam-Webster on wiggle

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