wag

[ wag ]

verb (used with object)

, wagged, wag·ging.

1. to move from side to side, forward and backward, or up and down, especially rapidly and repeatedly:

   a dog wagging its tail.

2. to move (the tongue), as in idle or indiscreet chatter.
3. to shake (a finger) at someone, as in reproach.
4. to move or nod (the head).

verb (used without object)

, wagged, wag·ging.

1. to be moved from side to side or one way and the other, especially rapidly and repeatedly, as the head or the tail.
2. to move constantly, especially in idle or indiscreet chatter:

   Her behavior caused local tongues to wag.

3. to get along; travel; proceed:

   Let the world wag how it will.

4. to totter or sway.
5. British Slang. to play truant; play hooky.

noun

1. the act of wagging:

   a friendly wag of the tail.

2. a person given to droll, roguish, or mischievous humor; wit.

WAG

¹

abbreviation for

1. (West Africa) Gambia (international car registration)

wag

²

/ wæɡ /

noun

1. a humorous or jocular person; wit

Wag

³

/ wæɡ /

noun

1. informal.
   the wife or girlfriend of a famous sportsman

wag

⁴

/ wæɡ /

verb

1. to move or cause to move rapidly and repeatedly from side to side or up and down
2. to move (the tongue) or (of the tongue) to be moved rapidly in talking, esp in idle gossip
3. to move (the finger) or (of the finger) to be moved from side to side, in or as in admonition
4. slang.
   to play truant (esp in the phrase wag it )

noun

1. the act or an instance of wagging

Derived Forms

• ˈwaggishness, noun
• ˈwaggishly, adverb
• ˈwaggish, adjective
• ˈwaggery, noun

Other Words From

• wagger noun
• un·wagged adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wag¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English waggen, from Old Norse vaga “to sway,” or from vagga “cradle”

Word History and Origins

Origin of wag¹

C16: of uncertain origin

Origin of wag²

C21: a back formation from an acronym for w ( ives ) a ( nd ) g ( irlfriends )

Origin of wag³

C13: from Old English wagian to shake; compare Old Norse vagga cradle

Idioms and Phrases

see tail wagging the dog ; tongues wag .

Example Sentences

One wag joked that Liberty was the only university where football players and nerds got the same amount of sex.

From The Daily Beast

“The first cover-up of the de Blasio administration,” one wag joked.

From The Daily Beast

One wag tweeted: “I saved millions of lives … by getting people to not vote for your father.”

From The Daily Beast

Rather, this tiny tail of the car industry is starting to wag the dog.

From The Daily Beast

And ultimately, Kumar said, “efforts at message discipline tend not to work” and tongues, at long last, begin to wag.

From The Daily Beast

"I bought them boots to wear only when I go into genteel society," said one of the codfish tribe, to a wag, the other day.

From Project Gutenberg

While a one-step was in full swing some would-be wag suddenly turned off all the lights.

From Project Gutenberg

A distinguished wag about town says, the head coverings the ladies wear now-a-days, are barefaced false hoods.

From Project Gutenberg

If all the world did not wag his way, so much the worse for cold-blooded mercenary superfluous beings.

From Project Gutenberg

The fellow she came with is Delmet the architect—a great wag—lazy, but full of fun—and genius.

From Project Gutenberg