wrigglewrig‧gle1 /ˈrɪɡəl/ verb 
Stop wriggling and let me put your T-shirt on.wriggle under/through/into He wriggled through the window. The dog wriggled free and ran off.► see thesaurus at move2[transitive] to move a part of your body backwards and forwards with small movements: She took off her shoes and wriggled her toes.—wriggly adjective: a wriggly wormwriggle out of something phrasal verb1to avoid doing something by using clever excuses SYN get out of something: Don’t try to wriggle out of your responsibilities.2to take off a tight piece of clothing by twisting your body from side to side: She wriggled out of her dress.
WORD ORIGINwriggle
Origin:
1300-1400 Probably from Middle Low German wriggelnVERB TABLE
wriggle
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | wriggle |
| he, she, it | wriggles | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | wriggled |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have wriggled |
| he, she, it | has wriggled | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had wriggled |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will wriggle |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have wriggled |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am wriggling |
| he, she, it | is wriggling | |
| you, we, they | are wriggling | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was wriggling |
| you, we, they | were wriggling | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been wriggling |
| he, she, it | has been wriggling | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been wriggling |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be wriggling |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been wriggling |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- He wriggled his fingers in his pockets.
- Shelly tried to wriggle free from him, but he held her firmly.
- The dog wriggled under the fence and escaped into the street.
- He wriggled around in her arms, then turned and butted his head against her shoulder, lightly but repeatedly.
- I managed to wriggle free of him and then to push him aside.
- She whimpered and wriggled further into the chesterfield's cushiony depths.
- The two halves twitched and wriggled in the dirt.
- Then, as though at some pre-arranged signal, both crabs wriggle free from their homes and exchange shells.
- They lived inside a person's body and wriggled about until their presence drove him to distraction.
- To his relief she wriggled across the seat, leaving room for him to get in beside her.
- Wetly gleaming, it wriggled and flapped over the embankment to the shore road.
THESAURUS
to go to a different place, or change the position of your body: · Sarah moved away from the window.· Every time I move I get a pain in my left shoulder.
to move slowly from one side to the other: · The branches swayed in the wind.· Donny swayed drunkenly as he walked back to his car.
to move repeatedly from one side to another, with small gentle movements: · He rocked backward and forward in his chair.· The boat rocked from side to side with the waves.
to move unsteadily from side to side: · The bike wobbled a bit, but she soon got it under control.
to keep moving or playing with your fingers, hands, feet etc, because you are bored or nervous: · Diana fidgeted nervously with her pencil.
to make very small movements from side to side with your body, especially because you feel uncomfortable: · By the end of the hour, most of the children were squirming in their seats.
to make small movements from side to side, especially in order to get into or out of something: · The dog wriggled under the fence and escaped into the street.· She managed to wriggle into the dress, but it was much too tight.
if part of your body twitches, it makes small movements that you cannot control: · A muscle on Yang’s face twitched.
written to make a movement – used especially when describing a situation in which no one moves, or someone wakes up: · In the village a dog barked but no one stirred.· The sleeping child stirred and opened her eyes.
to move – used when you are trying hard to make something move, often without success: · The piano wouldn’t budge.
Longman Language Activatorto avoid doing something that you should do · You can't go on avoiding your responsibilities forever.· Import duties on some goods can be avoided if you know how.avoid doing something · Do you think he's gone away to avoid talking to the police?· She's a good manager, because she never avoids dealing with the problems of her staff.· You may be able to avoid paying income tax on the money that you save.
informal to avoid doing something that you should do or that you have promised to do: · I was supposed to stay at home with my baby sister today, but I'll try to get out of it.get out of doing something: · He always manages to get out of paying for the drinks.
informal to avoid doing something that you have to do or have promised to do especially in a way that makes people not like or respect you: · It's illegal for these companies to duck out of their responsibilities by changing their names.duck out of doing something: · Miller has been widely criticized for trying to duck out on paying back the loans.
also weasel (your way) out of American to avoid doing something you should do by making up excuses: · He's somehow managed to wriggle out of watching the kids again.· Beth's trying to worm her way out of helping with the party.· You promised you'd take me, so don't try to weasel out of it.
also get round British: get around a law/rule/regulation etc to find a legal way of not obeying a law or rule that prevents you from doing what you want to do: · Isn't there any way of getting round these regulations?· He gets around the fire codes by claiming the building is a private club and not a business.
informal to avoid paying tax or obeying a law, in a way that is illegal or dishonest, or to avoid doing something that it is your duty to do: · Clever businessmen often manage to evade taxes.· Politicians have come up with many tricks to evade campaign spending limits.
informal to avoid paying something or doing something, especially in a dishonest way: · Through the help of powerful Senators, the firm has successfully dodged most federal environmental regulations.· During the Vietnam war, he moved to Canada to dodge the draft.
to keep moving your body or part of your body to keep moving or playing with your fingers, hands, feet etc, because you are bored or nervous: · Stop fidgeting, Sally, and pay attention.fidget in your seat/chair: · She glared at the little boy, who had started fidgeting in his chair.fidget with: · Diana fidgeted nervously with her pencil.
spoken if you can't keep still , you keep moving your body because you are excited or nervous and you cannot relax: · I was so excited that I couldn't keep still.· Frankie has a lot of energy; he can hardly keep still for more than a few minutes.
to make very small movements from side to side with your body, especially because you are in pain or uncomfortable: · The cat was squirming and he put it down.· Diane squirmed wildly as Gavin tickled her.squirm in your seat/chair: · The little boy squirmed in his seat, anxious to get up and leave the table.squirm with embarrassment/discomfort etc: · Laura's face reddened and she squirmed with embarrassment.
to make small movements from side to side, especially in order to get into a particular position or to get through an opening: wriggle into/out/through etc: · The dog wriggled under the fence and escaped into the street.wriggle free: · Shelly tried to wriggle free from him, but he held her firmly.
to twist your body from side to side violently, especially because you are suffering pain: · As he received each blow, he writhed on the floor and cried out.writhe in pain/agony: · Sarah was writhing in agony, clutching her leg.
if part of your body twitches , it makes small movements that you cannot control: · A muscle on Yang's face twitched.· My right eyelid wouldn't stop twitching.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The dog wriggled free and ran off.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
1[intransitive] to twist your body from side to side with small quick movements: The dog wriggled free and ran off.· I know what that means-even when he promises, he always wriggles out of paying his share of anything.· She wriggled out of his arms, took one step too far, and toppled into the roaring river.· Why bother to wriggle out of accepting that Ecclestone was a fat donor?· He can not pay the tax, and does everything he can to wriggle out of their demand.
· It wasn't a large one, but she was slim; she might be able to wriggle through.· The drumming of hoofs was loud in their ears as Molly wriggled through on her stomach.· In the Store there was always something to get behind or under or wriggle through ....· Philip put his foot on the ledge and his hands on the window and wriggled through.
NOUN· Nevertheless he felt the pressure lift off him as the young man wriggled his way through the crowd.· Some business travelers manage to wriggle their way up to the front cabin without paying those rates.· He reached the fence first, then wriggled his way under the wire and ran to the edge of the vivid-green swampland.· We wormed and wriggled his way through to touch down and the rot set in.· The fastenings flew off my jodhpurs and there had wriggled their way round my knees by the time the pony pulled up.
VERB· After I'd explained the problems, Mazzin tried to wriggle out of it by going on about blindfolds.· So much so that she remembers trying to wriggle her face away from it without success.· She tried to wriggle to get herself more comfortable, to let him know she didn't mind.· He tried to wriggle out of it, as usual.· We argued - no, we don't argue, I say things and he tries to wriggle out of them.
Stop wriggling and let me put your T-shirt on.wriggle under/through/into He wriggled through the window. The dog wriggled free and ran off.► see thesaurus at move2[transitive] to move a part of your body backwards and forwards with small movements: She took off her shoes and wriggled her toes.—wriggly adjective: a wriggly wormwriggle out of something phrasal verb1to avoid doing something by using clever excuses SYN get out of something: Don’t try to wriggle out of your responsibilities.2to take off a tight piece of clothing by twisting your body from side to side: She wriggled out of her dress.