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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

wigwag.

Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈwɪɡwaɡ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈwɪɡˌwæɡ/General-American
  1. Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states.

  2. Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states. A device that causes one or more lights to flash in a preset pattern.

  3. Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states. A device that causes one or more lights to flash in a preset pattern. A red light near the door of a sound stage that flashes to indicate that cameras are rolling inside the stage and that all people and vehicles outside should remain quiet; a red-eye.

  4. Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states. A device that causes one or more lights to flash in a preset pattern. A device used to cause lamps installed on a motor vehicle, especially an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance or police car, to flash as a warning.

  5. Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states. A device that causes one or more lights to flash in a preset pattern. A device with multiple (often two), alternately flashing lights which is installed at a railway level crossing (or grade crossing), a movable bridge, etc., to warn vehicular traffic to stop.

  6. Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states. An instrument that creates a wigwagging motion for polishing.

  7. Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states. A warning device inside the cabin of a truck that causes a mechanical arm to drop into view when the pressure in the airbrake system of the truck becomes too low for the brakes to be reliably deployed.

  8. Any of a number of mechanical or electrical devices which cause a component to oscillate between two states. A grade crossing signal with a swinging motion used to indicate an approaching train.

    US
  9. A signal sent by waving a flag to and fro.

    US · historical
Where this word comes from

From wig (“to wag, waggle”) + wag (“to swing”). The noun is derived from the verb.

verb/ˈwɪɡwaɡ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈwɪɡˌwæɡ/General-American
  1. To move gently in one direction and then another; to wig or wiggle, to wag or waggle.

  2. An act of wigwagging.

  3. To oscillate between two states.

  4. To send a signal by waving a flag to and fro.

    US · historical
Where this word comes from

From wig (“to wag, waggle”) + wag (“to swing”). The noun is derived from the verb.

adv/ˈwɪɡwaɡ/Received-Pronunciation/ˈwɪɡˌwæɡ/General-American
  1. With a wigwagging or to-and-fro motion.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From wig (“to wag, waggle”) + wag (“to swing”). The noun is derived from the verb.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.