as in to flap
to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions
the rabbit waggled its ears and hopped away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of waggle
Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2023
The younger Yaz’s pre-swing bat waggle was the topic, hitting coach Justin Viele said.
—Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Mar. 2023
Maya Wei-Haas, New York Times, 2 May 2025
While the Wii’s motion controls were fun, not every player wanted to get up and waggle, and not every developer wanted to build their game around that.
—New Atlas, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for waggle
Noun
The silence of the forest might be interrupted with a siren salute from a passing law enforcement helicopter, or a wing waggle from firefighting aircraft passing en route to a fire.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2023
The younger Yaz’s pre-swing bat waggle was the topic, hitting coach Justin Viele said.
—Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Mar. 2023
Verb
The crimson tips of giant tube worms waggled in the current, tangling around clusters of mussels.
—Maya Wei-Haas, New York Times, 2 May 2025
While the Wii’s motion controls were fun, not every player wanted to get up and waggle, and not every developer wanted to build their game around that.
—New Atlas, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for waggle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waggle
Noun
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Stylish yet functional, the pants are designed with front pleats, belt loops, and side flap pockets similar to Oprah’s pair.—
Emily Weaver,
PEOPLE,
4 May 2026
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Anyway, while Zack is having his flap attack, Lala, Michelle, and Janet are doing Pilates, and Janet is trying to figure out just who in the group is talking to her.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The dragons stalk the island, flicking their huge tongues in hopes of picking up the scent of a deer, wild boar, or water buffalo — the latter two species introduced by humans — or rodents and other smaller reptiles, including baby Komodo dragons.—
Craig Stanford,
Big Think,
7 May 2026
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On the rush, Keller controlled the loose puck just inside the left circle and flicked a shot off the back post into the net.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 May 2026
Noun
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These special issues now have shifted from doing an occasional kind of interesting little tail wag for readers based on what a luminary in the field thought might be kind of neat.—
Anil Oza,
STAT,
24 Apr. 2026
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These pre-conditions to talks were discussed at the EFL meeting, which just so happened to be held in The Belfry’s Masters Suite, or, as one wag put it, the room whose door is always open.—
Matt Slater,
New York Times,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Pebbles twitched, branches waggled, cholla wiggled, weeds erupted then dried up and died.—
Alina Hartounian,
NPR,
20 Apr. 2026
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The launch can also be viewed on NASA's social media platforms include Facebook, twitch and X as well as NASA+, the agency's streaming service.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Test the alternator output, check the door ajar switch, and inspect the parking brake and brake fluid level.—
Hartford Courant,
Hartford Courant,
3 May 2026
-
The analyst views Marvell as a major beneficiary of the Amazon-Anthropic agreement, given that the company supplies Trainium application-specific integrated circuits, Ethernet switches, data processing units, and optical digital signal processors to AWS.—
TipRanks.com Staff,
CNBC,
3 May 2026
Verb
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The Blue Jays swung at just 18% of Detmers’ pitches that were out of the zone.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
9 May 2026
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Extra servos in the shoulders let the arms swing widely, while the leg joints allow crouching and shifting positions.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
8 May 2026
Noun
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If a device frequently drops connection and can be fixed with a wiggle, there’s a good chance something is wearing out in the cable.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
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Finding a big-body option who has enough wiggle to add to the pass rush would be a boon.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Jokic swished a 29-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Denver a 60-51 halftime lead.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The crowd was scattered and some left early on the Monday evening, but fans still created plenty of noise when the Lynx swished home 3-pointers and made strong defensive plays.—
PJ Green
April 28,
Kansas City Star,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Waggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waggle. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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