waggle

1 of 2

verb

wag·​gle ˈwa-gəl How to pronounce waggle (audio)
waggled; waggling ˈwa-g(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce waggle (audio)

intransitive verb

: to reel, sway, or move from side to side : wag

transitive verb

: to move frequently one way and the other : wag
waggly adjective

waggle

2 of 2

noun

1
: an instance of waggling : a jerky motion back and forth or up and down
2
: a preliminary swinging of a golf club head back and forth over the ball before the swing

Examples of waggle in a Sentence

Verb He can waggle his ears. He can make his ears waggle. Noun a quick waggle of her head to indicate “no”
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
These massive mammals greet each other with a mix of gestures and sounds—by flapping their ears, making rumbling noises, waggling their tails and reaching out their trunks, scientists reported last week in the journal Communications Biology. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2024 The observations revealed that elephants greeted one another with specific combinations of vocalizations and gestures, such as rumbles with ear-flapping or ear-spreading, as well as other seemingly less deliberate physical movements, such as tail-raising and waggling, according to the study. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 9 May 2024
Noun
In their earliest dances, the bees that had no guidance performed dances with more mistakes in their direction angles and in the distance encoding communicated by the vertical waggle run. Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 9 Mar. 2023 For higher-quality resources such as sweeter nectar, dancers repeat the waggle run more times and race back faster after each waggle run. Making Mistakes This dance is difficult to produce. Discover Magazine, 14 Mar. 2023 See all Example Sentences for waggle 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'waggle.' 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

frequentative of wag entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1588, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun

circa 1866, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of waggle was in 1588

Dictionary Entries Near waggle

Cite this Entry

“Waggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/waggle. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

waggle

verb
wag·​gle
ˈwag-əl
waggled; waggling
-(ə-)liŋ
waggle noun

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