jiggle

verb

jig·​gle ˈji-gəl 

jiggled; jiggling ˈji-g(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

: to cause to move with quick little jerks or oscillating motions

intransitive verb

: to move from or as if from being jiggled

jiggle noun

jiggly

ˈji-g(ə-)lē 

adjective

Synonyms

• agitate
• bucket
• convulse
• jerk
• joggle
• jolt
• jounce
• judder [chiefly British]
• quake
• quiver
• shake
• shudder
• vibrate
• wobble
• wabble

Examples of jiggle in a Sentence

Try to avoid jiggling the camera.

His belly jiggled like a bowlful of jelly.

Recent Examples on the Web

The best way to test your pumpkin pie for doneness is to gently jiggle the pan; if the center is quite wobbly, the pie needs more time. —Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 24 Oct. 2024

The Lego conceit proves an ideal format for visually embodying these tunes, as bouncing abstract creations spring and jiggle to musical life. —Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2024

Those shifts will show how Jupiter’s potent gravity kneads and jiggles the moon, offering clues to its internal layer-cake structure and the dimensions of its core, mantle, ocean, and ice shell. —science.org, 19 Sep. 2024

But nothing anyone suggested as an underlying cause — from peculiar magmatic movements to jiggling ice sheets — seemed to make sense. —Robin George Andrews, Quanta Magazine, 12 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

frequentative of jig entry 2

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

jiggle

verb

jig·​gle ˈjig-əl 

jiggled; jiggling -(ə-)liŋ 

: to move or cause to move with quick little jerks

jiggle noun