waggles 1 of 2

noun

plural of waggle
as in flaps
a quick jerky movement from side to side or up and down a quick waggle of her head to indicate "no"

Synonyms & Similar Words

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waggles

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of waggle
as in flicks
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

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.
Recent Examples of waggles
Noun
Pre-shot routines such as Patrick Cantlay’s foot-shuffling and Brian Harman’s waggles have driven golf fans up a wall. — Gabby Herzig, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waggles
  1. flicks
  2. flaps
  3. wags
  4. twitches
  5. swings
  6. switches
  7. bobs
Noun
  • Nor are their higher-budget counterparts, such as superhero flicks and Disney’s live-action retreads of its own catalog, both of which spent much of this century eclipsing box office records.
    — Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 18 July 2026
  • La Roja then lacks quality and intent, opting instead for little flicks around corners that result in turning over possession.
    — Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 10 July 2026
Definition of flicks
Verb
  • The robot flaps five to six times a second to maintain flight.
    — Ari Daniel, NPR, 9 July 2026
  • To clean your garbage disposal, Lane suggests starting by cleaning the rubber flaps by using dish soap and a brush or an old toothbrush to scrub the rubber flaps that line the disposal.
    — Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 6 July 2026
Definition of flaps
Noun
  • Moreover, if Griffin stepped into public life now, the cynical wags in finance would declare the reason obvious—his hedge fund’s returns have been sagging.
    — Gary Sernovitz, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
  • Many critics, political pundits, and wags asked, somewhat rhetorically, whether anyone in the administration recalls how handing the responsibility of nuclear weaponry over to machines turned out in the Terminator movies.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Mar. 2026
Definition of wags
Verb
  • Persistent muscle twitches Everyone’s muscles twitch from time to time, usually at various locations.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Some devices, for example, track eye movements or other small muscle twitches to let users select words from a screen.
    — Emma R. Hasson, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2025
Definition of twitches
Verb
  • Lizzo observed that this pressure on women is part of a cultural shift — one that swings toward cruelty.
    — Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026
  • Collin Morikawa, on the other hand, swings the driver 7 mph slower but loses only 11 yards of distance.
    — Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of swings
Verb
  • Built for renewables Unlike conventional zinc batteries that rely on a stationary electrode, the slurry continuously circulates between a storage tank and the battery cell while zinc reversibly switches between its metallic and ionic forms.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 July 2026
  • If the United States switches to permanent daylight saving time, many people would spend winter mornings in the dark.
    — Washington Post staff, Washington Post, 17 July 2026
Definition of switches
Verb
  • Her head bobs gently, then sharply tilts at specific moments, particularly when certain words cut through the stream of conversation.
    — Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Just after lunchtime on a Saturday in November, a sea of purple braids bobs in unison, barely clearing the tops of the movie-theater seats behind them.
    — Eliza Berman, Time, 9 Dec. 2025
Definition of bobs

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Cite this Entry

“Waggles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waggles. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on waggles

Nglish: Translation of waggles for Spanish Speakers

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