wriggle

American  

[rig-uhl] / ˈrɪg əl /

verb (used without object)

wriggled, wriggling

1. to twist to and fro; writhe; squirm.

2. to move along by twisting and turning the body, as a worm or snake.

3. to make one's way by shifts or expedients (often followed byout ).

   to wriggle out of a difficulty.

---

verb (used with object)

wriggled, wriggling

1. to cause to wriggle.

   to wriggle one's hips.

2. to bring, get, make, etc., by wriggling.

   to wriggle one's way through a narrow opening.

noun

1. act of wriggling; a wriggling movement.

wriggle British  

/ ˈrɪɡəl /

verb

1. to make or cause to make twisting movements

2. (intr) to progress by twisting and turning

3. (intr; foll by into or out of) to manoeuvre oneself by clever or devious means

   wriggle out of an embarrassing situation

---

noun

1. a wriggling movement or action

2. a sinuous marking or course

Other Word Forms

• outwriggle verb (used with object)
• unwriggled adjective
• wriggler noun
• wrigglingly adverb
• wriggly adjective

Etymology

Origin of wriggle

1485–95; < Middle Low German wriggelen (cognate with Dutch wriggelen ), frequentative of *wriggen to twist, turn, akin to Old English wrīgian to twist; wry

Example Sentences

That question, along with Diamond’s ear worms, won’t stop wriggling in my brain.

From Los Angeles Times

"You need to have some wriggle room" for when things go wrong, he added.

From BBC

She expressed a desire for more wriggle room in the spreadsheets against her self-imposed fiscal rules – so-called "headroom".

From BBC

Oliver is used to hospitals, but is fretful, and wriggles as the research nurse slowly injects the treatment, about a cup full, into a catheter in his chest.

From BBC

The Premier League has added some wriggle room, too, with a multi-year rolling allowance of 30% that permits clubs to spend beyond the limit.

From BBC

Related Words

• crawl
• sneak
• squirm
• zigzag