From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishwrigglewrig‧gle1 /ˈrɪɡəl/ verb 1 [intransitive]MOVE/CHANGE POSITION to twist your body from side to side with small quick movements 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]MOVE/CHANGE POSITION 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 worm → wriggle out of something→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
wriggle• 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.• He wriggled around in her arms, then turned and butted his head against her shoulder, lightly but repeatedly.• Shelly tried to wriggle free from him, but he held her firmly.• Then, as though at some pre-arranged signal, both crabs wriggle free from their homes and exchange shells.• I managed to wriggle free of him and then to push him aside.• She whimpered and wriggled further into the chesterfield's cushiony depths.• He wriggled his fingers in his pockets.• The two halves twitched and wriggled in the dirt.• The dog wriggled under the fence and escaped into the street.wriggle under/through/into• In the Store there was always something to get behind or under or wriggle through ...• It wasn't a large one, but she was slim; she might be able to wriggle through.• Infuriated, she wriggled under his barricading arms, whirled around and pushed violently at his chest with all her might.• The drumming of hoofs was loud in their ears as Molly wriggled through on her stomach.• The smoke reached Amanda and made her sneeze; she wriggled under the blankets and Cormack looked down at her shoulder.• Once inside she wriggled into the corner of the seat to make room for him, and prepared to enjoy the novelty.• He wriggled into the impulse-suit, ducked his head into the helmet.• I wriggled into them, hoping something would rub off.wrigglewriggle2 noun [countable] 1 MOVE/CHANGE POSITIONa movement in which you twist your body from side to side2 → get a wriggle onExamples from the Corpus
wriggle• She would die rather than roll her eyes and wriggle and blush.• Really, it was one continuous wriggle.• Desperate attempts to find wriggle room to justify or excuse bad decisions are a waste of time and creative energy.• If the line wriggles or curves then the movement is towards the tighter curves.• I watched her shuffle, wriggle and avert her eyes while we made stilted conversation about our lives.Origin wriggle (1300-1400) Probably from Middle Low German wriggeln 