wriggled; wriggling
ˈri-g(ə-)liŋ 
1
: to move the body or a bodily part to and fro with short writhing motions like a worm : squirm
2
: to move or advance by twisting and turning
3
: to extricate or insinuate oneself or reach a goal as if by wriggling
1
: to cause to move in short quick contortions
2
: to introduce, insinuate, or bring into a state or place by or as if by wriggling
1
: a short or quick writhing motion or contortion
2
: a formation or marking of sinuous design
Synonyms
Examples of wriggle in a Sentence
Verb
The children wriggled and squirmed in their chairs.
She managed to wriggle free of her ropes.
They wriggled out of their wet clothes.
I had trouble getting the wriggling fish off my hook.
The snake wriggled across the path and went underneath a bush.
He was able to wriggle through the narrow opening.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
First-time feature director Benoît Delhomme, however, doesn’t have much command over this strange, wriggling story, which really calls for an assertive stylist to choose a pitch (in this case, probably the higher the better) and stick to it with gusto.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Plus, the Ollie’s velcro closure can be customized to fit your baby and stays tight and secure so arms can’t wriggle loose.
—Emily Hochberg, Parents, 11 Mar. 2024
Whereas a wealthy country like the US has wriggle room to rectify such design flaws, in Africa, home to half of the world’s extreme poor, the stakes for easing into a regime of trade liberalization, especially one as ambitious as the AfCFTA, are a great deal higher.
—Harry G. Broadman, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Fearless fashion ambassador Hunter Schafer has already wriggled into the striking, sculptural pannier dresses and Kendall Jenner arrived cinched to high heaven at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party.
—Alice Newbold, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2024
Each mother never left her litter, not even to feed, and the hatchlings wriggled around on her back and nuzzled up to the end of her body.
—Sofia Quaglia, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Hatchlings make clicking noises and wriggling movements near the vent in the lead-up to milk feedings, says Mailho-Fontana.
—Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024
Worm Moon The full Worm Moon wriggles its way into the night sky on Monday, March 25, 2024.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Jan. 2024
Bob Mondello, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024
Finally, a little wriggle and some ripples reveal a tiny calf there, too.
—Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Nov. 2023
Translucent sperm wriggle slowly across a sepia-toned laptop screen.
—Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 15 Apr. 2019
While larvae wriggle in their hexagonal cells, Varroa mites are busy sucking their hemolyph, or blood, for sustenance.
—Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 5 June 2015
Toward the end of Wednesday’s semifinal, Morocco was the likelier team to score, until Mbappé got into his favorite wriggle zone, on the edge of the penalty area, and quick-stepped his way through a crowd of defenders.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2022
There’s no teen watching for wriggle-through-able holes in the parental-authority net.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2022
But the modern members of the animal lineage—millions and millions of species of them that flit and fly and sprint and swim and wriggle and crawl—can all trace their origins to a singular uni-to-multi switch.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2022
The team chose a peekytoe crab shape simply for the fun of watching a minuscule robot wriggle in a crab-like fashion, but their three-dimensional printing technique could be used to mimic any animal or shape, the researchers say.
—Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 26 May 2022
Verb
Cabral lifted a plastic cover, revealing a mass of wriggling puppies, just a few days old.
—Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
First-time feature director Benoît Delhomme, however, doesn’t have much command over this strange, wriggling story, which really calls for an assertive stylist to choose a pitch (in this case, probably the higher the better) and stick to it with gusto.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Plus, the Ollie’s velcro closure can be customized to fit your baby and stays tight and secure so arms can’t wriggle loose.
—Emily Hochberg, Parents, 11 Mar. 2024
Whereas a wealthy country like the US has wriggle room to rectify such design flaws, in Africa, home to half of the world’s extreme poor, the stakes for easing into a regime of trade liberalization, especially one as ambitious as the AfCFTA, are a great deal higher.
—Harry G. Broadman, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Fearless fashion ambassador Hunter Schafer has already wriggled into the striking, sculptural pannier dresses and Kendall Jenner arrived cinched to high heaven at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party.
—Alice Newbold, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2024
Each mother never left her litter, not even to feed, and the hatchlings wriggled around on her back and nuzzled up to the end of her body.
—Sofia Quaglia, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
Hatchlings make clicking noises and wriggling movements near the vent in the lead-up to milk feedings, says Mailho-Fontana.
—Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024
Worm Moon The full Worm Moon wriggles its way into the night sky on Monday, March 25, 2024.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Jan. 2024
Noun
All of which is to say, there's still plenty of wriggle room on your Oscar pool ballot and reason to watch.
—Bob Mondello, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024
Finally, a little wriggle and some ripples reveal a tiny calf there, too.
—Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Nov. 2023
Translucent sperm wriggle slowly across a sepia-toned laptop screen.
—Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 15 Apr. 2019
While larvae wriggle in their hexagonal cells, Varroa mites are busy sucking their hemolyph, or blood, for sustenance.
—Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 5 June 2015
Toward the end of Wednesday’s semifinal, Morocco was the likelier team to score, until Mbappé got into his favorite wriggle zone, on the edge of the penalty area, and quick-stepped his way through a crowd of defenders.
—Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2022
There’s no teen watching for wriggle-through-able holes in the parental-authority net.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2022
But the modern members of the animal lineage—millions and millions of species of them that flit and fly and sprint and swim and wriggle and crawl—can all trace their origins to a singular uni-to-multi switch.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 28 Sep. 2022
The team chose a peekytoe crab shape simply for the fun of watching a minuscule robot wriggle in a crab-like fashion, but their three-dimensional printing technique could be used to mimic any animal or shape, the researchers say.
—Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 26 May 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wriggle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near wriggle
Cite this Entry
“Wriggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wriggle. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wriggle
2 of 2 noun1
: a short or quick twisting motion
2
: a formation or marking having a winding or twisting course or appearance
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