Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wag

/wæɡ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.03 in modern English

Syllables
wag
IPA
/wæɡ/
7
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To swing from side to side, as an animal's tail, or someone's head to express disagreement or disbelief.

verb

To play truant from school.

Australian usage; New Zealand usage; British usage; Slang

verb

To go; to proceed; to move; to progress.

Intransitive verb; Obsolete

verb

To move continually, especially in gossip; said of the tongue.

verb

To leave; to depart.

Intransitive verb; Obsolete

verb

Of the tail (lower order of the batting lineup): to score more runs than expected.

Intransitive verb; Slang

noun

An oscillating movement.

noun

A witty person.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English waggen, probably from Old English wagian (“to wag, wave, shake”) with reinforcement from Old Norse vaga (“to wag, waddle”); both from Proto-Germanic *wagōną (“to wag”). Related to English way. The verb may be regarded as an iterative or emphatic form of waw (verb), which is often nearly synonymous; it was used, e.g., of a loose tooth. Parallel formations from the same root are the Old Norse vagga feminine, cradle (Swedish vagga, Danish vugge), Swedish vagga (“to rock a cradle”), vugge (“to rock a cradle”), Dutch wagen (“to move”), early modern German waggen (dialectal German wacken) to waver, totter. Compare waggle, verb

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: waggen, wagian, vaga, *wagōną

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /wæɡ/
  • British English: /wæɡ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

wags (present, singular) wagging (participle, present) wagged (participle, past) wagged (past) wags (plural)

Derived Forms

awag bewag chinwag waggable wagger waggery wagsome wagster wagtail wangle waggie waggish

Phrases

finger-wag tail wagging the dog wag a finger wag-at-the-wall wag hemp wag it wag-on-the-wall wag-tail dance

Frequently Paired Words

waggle wiggle nod no skivitis wag one educated guess intelligent guess

Synonyms

see Thesaurus:play truant SWAG wild guess uneducated guess stab in the dark shot in the dark assumption conjecture foreguess given guess hunch

Rhymes With

bag flag tag drag ag mag lag gag rag brag fag snag

Questions

How do you pronounce wag?
The recorded pronunciation is /wæɡ/.
What does wag mean?
To swing from side to side, as an animal's tail, or someone's head to express disagreement or disbelief.
Where does wag come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce wag

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wag”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/wæɡ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wag”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “wag” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.