to move from side to side, forward and backward, or up and down, especially rapidly and repeatedly.
a dog wagging its tail.
to move (the tongue), as in idle or indiscreet chatter.
to shake (a finger) at someone, as in reproach.
to move or nod (the head).
to be moved from side to side or one way and the other, especially rapidly and repeatedly, as the head or the tail.
to move constantly, especially in idle or indiscreet chatter.
Her behavior caused local tongues to wag.
to get along; travel; proceed.
Let the world wag how it will.
to totter or sway.
British Slang. to play truant; play hooky.
the act of wagging.
a friendly wag of the tail.
a person given to droll, roguish, or mischievous humor; wit.
to move or cause to move rapidly and repeatedly from side to side or up and down
to move (the tongue) or (of the tongue) to be moved rapidly in talking, esp in idle gossip
to move (the finger) or (of the finger) to be moved from side to side, in or as in admonition
slang to play truant (esp in the phrase wag it )
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English waggen, from Old Norse vaga “to sway,” or from vagga “cradle”
A wag is a quick, back-and-forth movement. A scolding teacher might give you an irritated wag of a finger, while a happy dog will give you a cheerful tail wag. Animals and people alike use wags to communicate various emotions, and when they do, they wag. Dogs are known to wag their tails in happiness or to express friendliness, but a very slow tail wag can mean a dog is uncertain or is trying to calm itself. Wag is at least partly rooted in the Old English wagian, "move backwards and forwards."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The criticism usually ends there, with a finger wag and a head shake.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
You can’t wag your finger at people and say, “You should be going to the theater and having this theatrical experience,” but you feel it rising right now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2025
“I tell clients, ‘Don’t let the tax tail wag the dog.’”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 26, 2025
Cooper Connolly made a late 23 but the tail failed to wag as India turned the screws.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2025
I want to run around, wag my tail like Mi Shi.
From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na
Meanwhile, "the WAG culture is only getting more powerful, it's only just started in terms of the agency that they have in making their own brand and finding a new way in," he says.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
In the meantime, Biles seems content to embrace a position on the sidelines—both as an NFL WAG and a supporter of gymnastics around the globe.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2025
Between us, we have defecated in cat holes, WAG bags, and oil drums alongside service members of different genders and sexual identities.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2025
Ms. Rooney’s apparent sleuthing skills led to the case becoming known as the “Wagatha Christie” affair — playing off the WAG acronym and the name of the detective novelist Agatha Christie.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2022
Some Tory WAG among the Hanging Committee may have taken this juxtaposition for wit: our readers will adopt a different view.
From Old Friends, Epistolary Parody by Lang, Andrew
Wag Hotels, which has locations in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a consumer protection lawsuit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
You’ll also receive a complimentary month of Wag!
From New York Times ● May 15, 2023
That means Uber is subject to the law while pet-sitting service Wag, which has been called "Uber for dogs," is not.
From Reuters ● Mar. 17, 2023
The Secret Wag, an anonymously-written column in The Sun gossiping about footballers, came up a lot, with Mrs Rooney saying she believed Mrs Vardy had been a source, which she denied.
From BBC ● May 19, 2022
Brief, however, as his speeches, or rather ejaculations, were, the funny old gentleman stopped him by the apparently funny observation,— “So, my good Jeremiah Wag, you don’t know where your father came from?”
From Tales from Blackwood, Volume 7 by Willis, Herbert
Noem and Miller are among those whom Washington wags say could also be on the chopping block.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2026
Wall Street wags say bigger investment managers will do worse, but Blackstone’s 2025 investment performance was pretty good.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
The top order batters' minds are distracted from facing the opening overs of the following innings and if the tail really wags it can descend into chaos.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2025
This dual audience for the written word—readers and advertisers—has survived in digital media, and as with silly summer inserts, it’s often the tail of advertising that wags the dog of text.
From Slate ● May 21, 2025
He wags his stubby tail and licks my hand.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
Trusty wagged a finger and sprinted to celebrate with the U.S. bench.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
His efforts seemed to have put his side on course to win, but the Brave tailed wagged to pull off a remarkable victory.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2025
He is also now teammates with Gerrit Cole, the Yankees pitcher who famously wagged his finger in annoyance at then-Seattle Mariners rookie Caballero during a June 2023 game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2025
Dipper met every kind of famous person, Stewart said, including presidents and kings, which means he very well might have wagged his tail in Biden’s presence back when he was Barack Obama’s veep.
From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2024
Dr. Bearden wagged a finger in the air.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
If a leveraged fund grows large enough, it can start to have a significant impact on the underlying stock to which it is tied, a phenomenon traders refer to as “the tail wagging the dog.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
In a sense, it is like the tail wagging the dog.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
In a brief closeup from an earlier tournament game, Mara was shown wagging his tongue in celebration … or was that in revenge?
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
"She just came straight out, straight over to me, wagging her tail."
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
Its legs were short but its paws were huge, and it had a long body with a fluffy, wagging tail.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
