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.
But strict rules also make the financial tail wag the real economy dog.
From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026
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
There was no response, no whimpering cry or friendly wag of her tail.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
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
But to do that, she knew she had to shed her other personas – the Spice Girl, the WAG.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2025
WAG, as mentioned before, stands for wives and girlfriends.
From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2022
The battle has been dubbed the "WAGatha Christie" case, a reference to the "WAG" moniker given to the glamorous group of footballers' wives and girlfriends and Rooney's detective work.
From Reuters ● May 10, 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
One row lower, you’ll find that this prime real estate goes to two more brands—Purina and Blue Buffalo—next to Amazon’s own, called Wag.
From Slate ● Oct. 4, 2023
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
But no, they were quite unmoved, and Wag said, “Beastly row and smell—why don't you do the ordinary way?”
From The Five Jars by James, M. R. (Montague Rhodes)
Sitting next to Carr, Faith begged to differ, smiling as she wags her finger at the camera.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
Talk of ending the traditional dinner described by some wags as the quintessential glitzy Washington, D.C., event is growing.
From Salon ● May 1, 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
Just inland from Rosie’s Dog Beach, Franklin Bean, a 10-month-old mini dachshund, greeted passersby with tail wags and belly rolls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2025
For now, he wags his way across the living room.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
After striking Caballero out, Cole wagged his finger at him while walking off the mound.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Connecticut’s Tina Charles stepped in and wagged her finger toward Clark, then the Sun’s Marina Mabrey pushed Clark to the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2025
Dr Williams said Pumpkin, despite everything, still "wagged his tail" when he saw her.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 2024
Kodi the griffon mix, who plays Cosmos in the Swiss comedy-drama, narrowly beat Xin, a sighthound who instead wagged away with the Grand Jury Prize for the Chinese drama “Black Dog.”
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
Pond wagged his tail slightly when he saw Nathan.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
“When he takes my sister to work, Jameson is in the car, wagging his tongue.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
The cinematic commercial got tongues wagging online last week and capped a crazy run of lengthy, star-studded videos dropping ahead of the Fifa Men's World Cup.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
In a sense, it is like the tail wagging the dog.
From MarketWatch ● May 26, 2026
He played doubles with Emma Raducanu at last year's US Open, setting tongues wagging, but the British player has insisted they are "just good friends".
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
I was glad to see the dogs there, sitting before the fire, and Jasper, the younger, came over to me at once, his tail wagging, and thrust his nose into my hand.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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.
