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.

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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

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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

Rather, she’s snared Millie in a trap while desperately trying to wriggle free from one herself.

From Salon • Jan. 31, 2026

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

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2025

An unholy specimen, a building creature that is sufficiently weird, necessary, and profitable to wriggle to life in the city’s stifling landscape of land-use regulations: the double duplex.

From Slate • Jul. 31, 2025

For decades, he tried to wriggle out of that typecasting to play kooks and himbos.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2025

Grandma Knife laughs so hard, tears wriggle down her cheeks.

From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman

Related Words

• crawl
• sneak
• squirm
• zigzag