wiggle room

noun

The opportunity to make alternative decisions or to pursue other courses of action, especially any involving only minor changes to one's present situation or course.

Similar
flexibilitylatitudeleewayelbow roommaneuvering roomroom for maneuverwobble roomwriggle room
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Meanings

nounwiggle room (uncountable)
  1. informaluncountableThe opportunity to make alternative decisions or to pursue other courses of action, especially any involving only minor changes to one's present situation or course.

    There was no wiggle room here, no leeway, no margin for error.

    1999, Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins, Apollyon: The Destroyer is Unleashed, →ISBN, page 145
    1 more example

    "Nothing I know right now interests me in running," she said last week. But that leaves her some wiggle room, should things change.

    2003 August 4, Terry McCarthy, Karen Tumulty, “Davis vs. Davis”, in Time

    Synonyms: flexibility, latitude, leeway, elbow room, maneuvering room, room for maneuver, wobble room, wriggle room

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe opportunity to make alternative decisions or to pursue other courses of action, especially any involving only minor changes to one's present situation or course.

Similar
flexibilitylatitudeleewayelbow roommaneuvering roomroom for maneuverwobble roomwriggle roomscope
Also see
leewaymaneuvering roomroom for maneuver

Translations

Catalan marge de maniobra
  • marge de maniobraopportunity to make alternative decisions
Finnish liikkumavara, liikkumatila
  • liikkumavaraopportunity to make alternative decisions
  • liikkumatilaopportunity to make alternative decisions
French marge de manœuvre
  • marge de manœuvreopportunity to make alternative decisions
German Spielraum
  • Spielraumopportunity to make alternative decisions
Hungarian mozgástér
  • mozgástéropportunity to make alternative decisions
Italian spazio di manovra
  • spazio di manovraopportunity to make alternative decisions
Polish furtka
  • furtkaopportunity to make alternative decisions
Portuguese margem de manobra
  • margem de manobraopportunity to make alternative decisions
Russian пространство для маневра
  • пространство для маневра (prostranstvo dlja manevra)opportunity to make alternative decisions
Swedish svängrum
  • svängrumopportunity to make alternative decisions
Cite this entry
APA

wiggle room. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wiggle%20room

MLA

“wiggle room.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wiggle%20room. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wiggle room,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wiggle%20room.

Source: wiggle room on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.