Definition

1. Noun:
   • A terrestrial worm that burrows into and helps aerate soil; it often surfaces when the ground is cool or wet and is used as bait by anglers.
   • The larva or pupa of a mosquito.
   • A person, especially a child, who fidgets and cannot stay still.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Earthworm):
  • The fisherman dug for wigglers to use as bait.
  • After the rain, the lawn was covered with wigglers.
• Noun (Mosquito Larva):
  • We could see the wigglers moving in the stagnant water.
  • The pond's surface was teeming with mosquito wigglers.
• Noun (Fidgety Person):
  • My youngest is such a wiggler during story time.
  • Keeping the wigglers in their seats was the teacher's biggest challenge.

Advanced Usage

• The term is informal and descriptive, emphasizing the characteristic wiggling motion of the subject.
• When referring to a person, it is often used affectionately or humorously, though it can imply mild frustration from a caregiver or teacher.

Variants and Related Words

• Wiggle (verb): To move with short, quick movements from side to side or up and down.
  • The puppy will wiggle its tail when it's happy.
• Wiggly (adjective): Tending to wiggle; not straight or stable.
  • He has a wiggly tooth.
  • The wiggly line on the graph.

Synonyms

• For the earthworm: angleworm, fishing worm, nightwalker, nightcrawler, earthworm.
• For the mosquito larva: wriggler.
• For the fidgety person: fidgeter, squirmer, restless person.

Noun

1. terrestrial worm that burrows into and helps aerate soil; often surfaces when the ground is cool or wet; used as bait by anglers
2. larva of a mosquito
3. one who can't stay still (especially a child)
   • the toddler was a real wiggler on plane trips