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Synonyms

wiggle

American  
[wig-uhl] / ˈwɪg əl /

verb (used without object)

wiggled, wiggling
  1. to move or go with short, quick, irregular movements from side to side.

    The puppies wiggled with delight.


verb (used with object)

wiggled, wiggling
  1. to cause to wiggle; move quickly and irregularly from side to side.

noun

  1. a wiggling movement or course.

  2. a wiggly line.

  3. a dish of creamed fish or shellfish and peas.

idioms

  1. get a wiggle on, to hurry up; get a move on.

    If you don't get a wiggle on, we'll miss the first act.

wiggle British  
/ ˈwɪɡəl /

verb

  1. to move or cause to move with jerky movements, esp from side to side

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the act or an instance of wiggling

  2. slang to hurry up

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • outwiggle verb (used with object)
  • wiggler noun
  • wiggly adjective

Etymology

Origin of wiggle

1175–1225; Middle English wiglen; akin to Old English wegan to move, wēg motion, wicga insect; compare Norwegian vigla to totter, frequentative of vigga to rock oneself, Dutch, Low German wiggelen

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.

The reasoning: Rising gross margins often show a company has pricing power with its customers, but it also gives a company wiggle room to boost its operating margin as long as other costs don’t balloon.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

The one area with wiggle room is eating, typically her biggest area of discretionary spending.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

"I'm losing sleep over the $6,700, but I have a little wiggle room to be able to do that because once I get a job, I can pay it off," Morgan said.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2026

The trick is building a little wiggle room in your budget for them—so that a fallback meal feels like a relief, not a splurge.

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2025

I wiggle free when we’re outside and go to get into the passenger’s seat.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King