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.

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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

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noun

1. the act or an instance of wiggling

2. slang to hurry up

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

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