waggle

Everyday

1. To move something quickly from side to side or up and down: waggle your fingers. tree →
2. (noun) A quick small movement like this: the dog's tail gave a waggle. tree →

In the lessons

Used for playful movements of fingers, ears, eyebrows, tails and loose teeth; in science, honeybees do a "waggle dance" to show other bees where food is. Phrases: waggle your fingers, waggle your eyebrows, waggle dance, give it a waggle.

Examples

• Can you waggle your ears? tree →
• The puppy waggled its tail when it saw me. tree →
• She waggled her loose tooth with her tongue. tree →
• Honeybees do a waggle dance to show where the flowers are. tree →
• Give the plug a waggle if the lamp flickers — no, unplug it first and tell an adult. tree →
• He waggled his eyebrows to make us laugh. tree →
• Waggle your fingers to warm them up. tree →
• At a little to their right there was a thin uncomely bridge that waggled across the torrent. tree →

Note

Regular verb: waggled, waggling. Close to "wag" (a tail wags) and "wiggle" (twist about); waggle is a bit bigger and sillier than wag.