jiggle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
jiggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
jiggled,
past participle, past
-
jiggling
present participle
noun
-
jiggles
plural
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
jigglesimple
-
jigglessimple
-
have jiggledperfect
-
has jiggledperfect
-
am jigglingprogressive
-
are jigglingprogressive
-
is jigglingprogressive
-
have been jigglingperfect progressive
-
has been jigglingperfect progressive
Past
-
jiggledsimple
-
had jiggledperfect
-
was jigglingprogressive
-
were jigglingprogressive
-
had been jigglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jiggle
Explanation
To jiggle is to move very quickly back and forth or up and down. If you ride in a car over bumpy roads holding a bowl of Jello on your lap, you can watch it jiggle until you reach your destination. You might feel your body jiggle when you ride on a galloping horse, and you can also jiggle something, like when you accidentally jiggle a chess board and send the pieces flying. The action of moving in this way is a jiggle. Jiggle comes from jig, "lively dance," and is probably an alteration of the earlier joggle, "move with jerks or small bobs."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"It's this superconducting gel that we're sort of seeing jiggle," von Hoegen says.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 17, 2026
In an AI era when attackers can jiggle every virtual doorknob continuously, human defenders don’t stand a chance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
Some attendees legs jiggle dramatically as they adjust to the board’s movement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
"Astounding, I could do that for free - just jiggle or stir the regular bag in the mug and it halves the brewing time", he told the BBC.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2023
When we got out of the car, Bertha gave my shoulder a jiggle and said, “Are you excited?”
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
“We love you so much my sweet jiggles and we are praying with all we’ve got,” “Drag Race” staple Michelle Visage commented.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025
Noise often jiggles the underlying data, but the topology remains the same—revealing robust features of the system.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 26, 2022
Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. Bars are done when the curd is darker, jiggles only slightly, and touching it leaves a light indent.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 12, 2022
In this case, the “something else” the Mandalorian accepts is Calamari Flan, which is an absolutely insane name for a currency, especially one used by squid people, especially one that jiggles when you touch it.
From Slate ● Nov. 12, 2019
Safer’s hand shoots out and jiggles the doorknob.
From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead
"There was an old lady who swallowed a spider that wriggled, and jiggled and tickled inside her..."
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2023
She beamed even brighter and — why not, with so much time on her hands? — jiggled her tambourine.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 1, 2022
He jiggled the door handle to an office that he believed belonged to Pelosi, but it was locked.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2022
In a little, wood-paneled room above the pier’s carousel, Jim Harris jiggled a pair of red dice in a loose fist and opened it onto his desk.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2021
Then, he jiggled the car keys in front of my face and said, “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
From "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
If you look closely, that footage of Stram is a bit jiggling and unsteady.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2025
It is a difficult and intricate process where laser light is shone at the atoms to stop them jiggling about so much.
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2024
Others joined in: jiggling, dancing and waving to police officers parked nearby.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 24, 2023
Which is why there’s so much debate about whether Ralph Yarl was jiggling the knob or whatever.
From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2023
I lurked down alleyways, jiggling strange doors and windows, trying to get in somewhere.
From "Milkweed" by Jerry Spinelli
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
