Meanings
present singular third person squirms · participle present squirming · participle past squirmed · past squirmed
- intransitiveTo twist one's body with snakelike motions.
The prisoner managed to squirm out of the straitjacket.
3 more examples
[…] around us there had sprung up a perfect bedlam of screams and hisses and a seething caldron of hideous reptiles, devoid of fear and filled only with hunger and with rage. They clambered, squirmed and wriggled to the deck, forcing us steadily backward, though we emptied our pistols into them.
1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter IV, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Amazing Stories, (please specify |part=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, 1927, →OCLC"Throw it away, dear, do," she said, as they got into the road; but Jacob squirmed away from her […]
1922 October 26, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Jacob’s Room, Richmond, London: […] Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished London: The Hogarth Press, 1960, →OCLCThe Dutchman then missed a retaken second spot-kick, before the Trotters hit back when Daniel Sturridge's shot squirmed under Heurelho Gomes.
2011 February 5, Michael Kevin Darling, “Tottenham 2 - 1 Bolton”, in BBC - intransitiveTo twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment.
A tough question that made the press office squirm.
2 more examples
I recounted the embarrassing story in detail just to watch him squirm.
MARIGOLD: Should I tell them I know? DORA: Nah, let ’em squirm. Let’s go get some pie.
2010, Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content 1686: Twist in the WindSynonyms: fidget
- To evade a question, an interviewer etc.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment.
More synonyms by meaning
verbto move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
First recorded 1690's, originally used of eels; cognate with Scots squimmer (“to wriggle, squirm”). Of uncertain origin. Compare dialectal quirm, whirm (“to disappear quickly, vanish suddenly and mysteriously”), Norwegian kverva (“to turn around, take away, remove, shrink”), from Old Norse hverfa (“to turn, vanish”). Alternatively, perhaps imitative or related to worm (in the sense of writhing movement) or swarm.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek στρεφογυρίζω
- στρεφογυρίζω (strephogurízō)twist one’s body with snakelike motion
Bulgarian гърча се, гърча се
- гърча се (gărča se)twist one’s body with snakelike motion
- гърча се (gărča se)twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- отбягвам (otbjagvam)to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
Catalan serpentejar, recaragolar-se
- serpentejartwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- recaragolar-setwist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
Dutch wriemelen, wringen
- wriemelentwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- wringentwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- wriemelentwist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- ontwijkento evade a question, an interviewer etc.
Esperanto svingiĝi
- svingiĝitwist one’s body with snakelike motion
Finnish kiemurrella, vääntelehtiä
- kiemurrellatwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- vääntelehtiätwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- kiemurrellatwist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- kiemurrellato evade a question, an interviewer etc.
French gigoter, remuer
- gigotertwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- remuertwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- se tortillertwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- louvoyerto evade a question, an interviewer etc.
German sich winden, sich winden
- sich windentwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- sich windentwist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- sich windento evade a question, an interviewer etc.
Greek στριφογυρίζω
- στριφογυρίζω (strifogyrízo)twist one’s body with snakelike motion
Hungarian vonaglik, tekereg
- vonagliktwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- tekeregtwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- fészkelődiktwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- izeg-mozogtwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- feszengtwist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
Japanese 蠢く
- 蠢く (ugomeku)twist one’s body with snakelike motion
Māori takaokeoke, kōiriiri
- takaokeoketwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- kōiriiritwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- karapetapetautwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- tīwhetatwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- takaokeoketwist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
Norwegian vri seg, vri seg
- vri segtwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- vri segtwist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- vri seg unnato evade a question, an interviewer etc.
Polish wić się, wprawić w zakłopotanie
- wić siętwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- wprawić w zakłopotanietwist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- wywinąć sięto evade a question, an interviewer etc.
Portuguese serpentear, contorcer
- serpenteartwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- contorcertwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- retorcertwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- ondulartwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- ondeartwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- contorcertwist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
Russian извива́ться, изгиба́ться
- извива́ться (izvivátʹsja)twist one’s body with snakelike motion
- изгиба́ться (izgibátʹsja)twist one’s body with snakelike motion
- ко́рчиться (kórčitʹsja)twist one’s body with snakelike motion
- поёживаться (pojóživatʹsja)twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- ёрзать (jórzatʹ)twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- ёжиться (jóžitʹsja)twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- уви́ливать (uvílivatʹ)to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
Spanish serpentear, retorcerse
- serpenteartwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- retorcersetwist one’s body with snakelike motion
- avergonzarsetwist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- escabullirseto evade a question, an interviewer etc.
Swedish skruva (sig)
- skruva (sig)twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
Tamil நெளி
- நெளி (neḷi)twist one’s body with snakelike motion
Thai ดิ้น
- ดิ้น (dîn)twist one’s body with snakelike motion
Ukrainian ви́тися, ко́рчитися
- ви́тися (výtysja)twist one’s body with snakelike motion
- ко́рчитися (kórčytysja)twist in discomfort, especially from shame or embarrassment
- ухиля́тися (uxyljátysja)to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
- ухили́тися (uxylýtysja)to evade a question, an interviewer etc.
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with squirm
Cite this entry
squirm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/squirm
“squirm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/squirm. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “squirm,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/squirm.
Source: squirm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.