verb / noun
wriggle
RIG-ul/ˈrɪɡl/
A small twisting or squirming movement, or to move this way.
The earthworm wriggles across the damp soil.
Etymology
From wrigglen, the word has denoted short, writhing twists since its earliest recorded use in English. That repeated, small-scale motion remains central to the modern meaning.
In context
The grub doesn't know what the aye-aye is, but it does know what it means-death if it can't wriggle away.
More examples
- He gives a small wriggle to free his trapped sleeve.
- The worm wriggles across the damp soil.
- She wriggled through the narrow opening.
Forms
wriggle · wriggles · wriggled · wriggling