wiggle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
wiggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wiggled,
past participle, past
-
wiggling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
wiggles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wiggled,
past participle, past
-
wiggling
present participle
noun
-
wiggles
plural
-
a wiggling movement or course.
-
a wiggly line.
-
a dish of creamed fish or shellfish and peas.
idioms
verb
noun
-
the act or an instance of wiggling
-
slang to hurry up
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wigglesimple
-
wigglessimple
-
have wiggledperfect
-
has wiggledperfect
-
am wigglingprogressive
-
are wigglingprogressive
-
is wigglingprogressive
-
have been wigglingperfect progressive
-
has been wigglingperfect progressive
Past
-
wiggledsimple
-
had wiggledperfect
-
was wigglingprogressive
-
were wigglingprogressive
-
had been wigglingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
To wiggle is to move something back and forth. When you dance, you probably wiggle your hips. If you wiggle them too much, your mother might wiggle a finger at you and say "Settle down!" Young children wiggle loose teeth until they fall out. Sometimes, if your mom is trying to hold your little brother still, he'll wiggle out of her grasp and run off. Have you ever come across a rule that you don't want to follow? If so, you've probably tried to find some wiggle room, or little ways you could get out of doing what you don't want to do.
Vocabulary lists containing wiggle
Shiloh
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 3
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"How Coach Told Me I Didn't Make the Cut" and "Bionics"
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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:
But sceptics have warned that financial constraints mean he will struggle to find wiggle room to fund bigger commitments.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
Canada’s retaliatory tariffs aren’t set to take effect for another two weeks, leaving wiggle room for the two sides to reach a last-minute compromise.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
In the initial stages, she could not lift her legs or wiggle her toes.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
The extra tax revenue also gave the state additional wiggle room as it funded discretionary items ranging from new courthouses to litter abatement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
She must have seen the sudden hearts in my eyes, because the girl laughed and grabbed one of the baby’s feet to wiggle it in my direction.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Occasionally the wiggles get bigger and that can result in big curves in the flow - like a meandering river.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
"We then look at this dance through a microscope with a camera and decode from the wiggles what the robots are saying to us. It's very similar to how honey bees communicate with each other."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 6, 2026
“If you look at a video of a real baby primate, they have the exact same wiggles and imperfections,” says the filmmaker.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2025
Rather than set in stone, this race wiggles like Jello.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2024
She wiggles her bare toes on both feet.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
To be sure, American consumers have wiggled out of tight spots before, powering the U.S. economy through decades-high inflation spikes, a pandemic, and armed conflicts.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
Tesla showed off its Optimus robot, which wiggled its lifelike fingers to the crowd.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025
Rojas wore Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s blue glove, wiggled the ball in it and hesitated during his windup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2025
While Gates wiggled his hips after nailing doubles, and was backed by chants of 'USA, USA', his opponent faced jeers and looked increasingly despondent as the match progressed.
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2024
Seeing his chance, he kicked and wiggled his body, aiming for the bank.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
He installed himself courtside, the Windows Clippy among the die-hards, leaping from his seat after dunks and wiggling like one of those inflatable tubes at a car wash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Particularly impressive were improvements in robotic hands, Sarkar said, wiggling his fingers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
“It’s going so fast,” Wahab said, wiggling and pointing as her aunt held on tightly for safety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
But the most likely answer is that particles of pollution are "wiggling their way through the lining of the blood vessels and lodging in various organs".
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
He stopped wiggling, and another mound rose up.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
