wriggleverb
uk/ˈrɪɡ.əl/us/ˈrɪɡ.əl/[ I or T ] to twist your body, or move part of your body, with small, quick movements:
A large worm wriggled in the freshly dug earth.
Baby Martha was wriggling her toes in the sand.
[ I + adv/prep ] to move somewhere using short, quick twisting movements:
The tunnel was low and dark, but she managed to wriggle through to the other side.
After twisting and turning for a while, he managed to wriggle free.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Making short, sudden movements
- aquiver
- convulse
- convulsion
- convulsive
- cringe
- flick
- jerky
- jig
- jiggle
- jolt
- judder
- palpitate
- pull away
- quiver
- shivery
- shrink
- squirm
- tremulous
- whip
- worry at sth
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Moving on your hands and legs or on your stomach
Bending, twisting and curving
Idiom(s)
wriggle off the hook
Phrasal verb(s)
wriggle out of sth
wrigglenoun [ C usually singular ]
uk/ˈrɪɡ.əl/us/ˈrɪɡ.əl/an act of wriggling:
With a wriggle, she managed to crawl through the gap.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Moving on your hands and legs or on your stomach
- clamber
- claw
- claw your way (somewhere) idiom
- crawl
- four
- grovel
- on all fours idiom
- pull
- scramble
- slither
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Bending, twisting and curving