wriggle
- to twist to and fro; writhe; squirm.
- to move along by twisting and turning the body, as a worm or snake.
- to make one's way by shifts or expedients (often followed by out): to wriggle out of a difficulty.
- to cause to wriggle: to wriggle one's hips.
- to bring, get, make, etc., by wriggling: to wriggle one's way through a narrow opening.
- act of wriggling; a wriggling movement.
Origin of wriggle
Related Words for wriggle
squirm, crawl, sneak, zigzag, dodge, glide, jerk, wag, convulse, skew, writhe, jiggle, twist, turn, ooze, slip, waggle, twitch, slink, snakeExamples from the Web for wriggle
Contemporary Examples of wriggle
Like Nadler, Cohen—who is also Jewish—substituted “Jewish” for “gay” and watched Riggle wriggle.
Right-Wing Activists: Yep, ‘Religious Freedom’ Protects Discrimination Against JewsJay Michaelson
June 14, 2014
The question is whether Netanyahu believes that he can wriggle his way out of serious peace negotiations once again.
To wriggle your way into private sessions with top industry execs?
Meeting Merkel, Schmoozing With Charlize: 10 Things You Need to Know About the World Economic Forum in DavosWinston Ross
January 22, 2013
And most of us felt compelled to find a witty repartee while trying to wriggle out of his clutches.
Once again, the Iranians made an apparent nuclear deal with the West, only to wriggle away at the eleventh hour yesterday.
Historical Examples of wriggle
There it stood quite still, except that the snakes continued to wriggle.
The Miraculous PitcherNathaniel Hawthorne
But being small Pee-wee was able to wriggle out of almost anything.
Pee-wee HarrisPercy Keese Fitzhugh
Tamils old and young move when they laugh or even smile; in fact they wriggle.
Lotus BudsAmy Carmichael
Then he allowed it to wriggle about until in time its head faced the Englishmen.
The Fiery TotemArgyll Saxby
You have to lie flat on your stomach, and wriggle about as if you were swimming.
wriggle
- to make or cause to make twisting movements
- (intr) to progress by twisting and turning
- (intr; foll by into or out of) to manoeuvre oneself by clever or devious meanswriggle out of an embarrassing situation
- a wriggling movement or action
- a sinuous marking or course
Word Origin for wriggle
Word Origin and History for wriggle
late 15c., from Middle Low German wrigglen "to wriggle," from Proto-Germanic *wrig-, *wreik- "to turn" (see wry). Related to Old English wrigian "to turn, incline, go forward."