From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsquirmsquirm /skwɜːm $ skwɜːrm/ verb [intransitive] 1 MOVE/CHANGE POSITIONto twist your body from side to side because you are uncomfortable or nervous, or to get free from something which is holding you SYN wriggle Christine squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. The boy tried to squirm free.► see thesaurus at move2 EMBARRASSEDto feel very embarrassed or ashamedsquirm with He made me squirm with embarrassment. —squirm noun [singular]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
squirm• Pornography is a subject that makes most Americans squirm.• Whenever I think back to what I said at the party it makes me want to squirm.• Instead of squirming about helplessly as intended, she gently caressed the strange hand with her own.• The cat was squirming and he put it down.• In the old-style office, the boss yelled, the employees squirmed, and maybe the work got done.• He squirmed as she came down the aisle.• The baby squirmed in her arms.• The little boy squirmed in his seat, anxious to get up and leave the table.• It was clear that whatever demons he'd tried to exorcise were still present and squirming inside his head.• McAllister and his team-mates were made to squirm their way through a special screening of their 4-1 Saturday mauling by Middlesbrough.• I can still remember how I used to squirm uneasily under his touch.• Diane squirmed wildly as Gavin tickled her.• When I tried to pick him up he squirmed wildly, jerked away and threw himself to the ground again.• The little boy squirmed with embarrassment when his mother told him off in front of his friends.• Laura's face reddened and she squirmed with embarrassment.Origin squirm (1600-1700) Perhaps copying the action 