wriggle out of
verb
wriggled out of; wriggling out of; wriggles out of
informal + often disapproving
: to avoid doing (something that one does not want to do) in some clever or dishonest way
She tried to wriggle out of the contract.
Don't let him wriggle out of paying you for your work.
Examples of wriggle out of in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Video shows the mother bear peeking her head out from the den and then wriggling out of it, signaling for the cubs to follow her.
—
Brooke Baitinger, Sacbee.com, 10 Apr. 2026
The fun of watching Survivor is seeing contestants wriggle out of seemingly impossible binds through social skills, but when that becomes impossible, the show renders itself only frustrating.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2026
Rosauer struck out 10 in her four innings for Yorkville (1-3), wriggling out of several jams and teaming with senior reliever Ellie Fox to strike out 16.
—Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
The Tigers did strike late, scoring a run in the ninth inning and putting the tying run on base, but Justin Topa was able to wriggle out of the jam and close out his first save of the season.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 10 Jan. 2026
Dion says as the dog wearing antlers like the Grinch’s pooch, Max, wriggles out of her grasp.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 26 Dec. 2025
The character's love for hijinks and adventure kept longtime viewers on their toes to see how Luke would wriggle out of each escalating predicament next.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 15 Dec. 2025
Land is a unique asset, at the center of booms and busts since Babylon, and will be here long after Meta or Microsoft or Google try to wriggle out of their data-center leases, should the AI buildout prove to be overdone.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 11 Nov. 2025
Ibis aren’t trying to wriggle out of their reputation.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Brooke Baitinger, Sacbee.com, 10 Apr. 2026
The fun of watching Survivor is seeing contestants wriggle out of seemingly impossible binds through social skills, but when that becomes impossible, the show renders itself only frustrating.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2026
Rosauer struck out 10 in her four innings for Yorkville (1-3), wriggling out of several jams and teaming with senior reliever Ellie Fox to strike out 16.
—Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
The Tigers did strike late, scoring a run in the ninth inning and putting the tying run on base, but Justin Topa was able to wriggle out of the jam and close out his first save of the season.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 10 Jan. 2026
Dion says as the dog wearing antlers like the Grinch’s pooch, Max, wriggles out of her grasp.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 26 Dec. 2025
The character's love for hijinks and adventure kept longtime viewers on their toes to see how Luke would wriggle out of each escalating predicament next.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 15 Dec. 2025
Land is a unique asset, at the center of booms and busts since Babylon, and will be here long after Meta or Microsoft or Google try to wriggle out of their data-center leases, should the AI buildout prove to be overdone.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 11 Nov. 2025
Ibis aren’t trying to wriggle out of their reputation.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wriggle out of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wriggle%20out%20of. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
