jiggle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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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
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have jiggledperfect
-
has jiggledperfect
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am jigglingprogressive
-
are jigglingprogressive
-
is jigglingprogressive
-
have been jigglingperfect progressive
-
has been jigglingperfect progressive
Past
-
jiggledsimple
-
had jiggledperfect
-
was jigglingprogressive
-
were jigglingprogressive
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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:
More than 50 different songs appear, sometimes impatiently cast aside by Mr. Luhrmann so he can jiggle and rotate his kaleidoscope again.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
One could be to vibrate the oxygen-making machine device, which might jiggle the bubbles free.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2025
Some attendees’ legs jiggle dramatically as they adjust to the board’s movement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2024
When atoms in a lattice jiggle together, the collective excitation is known as a phonon.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2023
I watched them separate, each from the other, and jiggle up and down in a silly way.
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
We used on-set projectors, we’d then add little shakes and jiggles to get that scintillating effect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2024
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
The knob jiggles, the door opens, a moth flies inside, and a lady with gray hair sticks her head out.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
"There was an old lady who swallowed a spider that wriggled, and jiggled and tickled inside her..."
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2023
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
Tran pressed his face against the windows to peer inside and jiggled a door handle to see if it would open.
From Washington Post ● May 14, 2021
Under my hands the Object’s stomach jiggled as she laughed.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
For Annette Guest, 73 and from Worcester, everyday occurrences like someone jiggling their leg could be enough to prompt a reaction.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2024
Which is why there’s so much debate about whether Ralph Yarl was jiggling the knob or whatever.
From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2023
“Nonresidents are walking up and down the hallways jiggling their doors trying to get in,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2023
The feathered and fidgety duo settled into their new pens, their vibrant red wattles jiggling with every step, a stark contrast to their icy pale faces.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2022
He fell on his furry rump, then scrambled to his hooves and ran away with his belly jiggling.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
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.
