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# wag

«wag» in Mova's school dictionary: **To move quickly from side to side or up and down…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (wag, wags, wagged, wagging); noun (a wag — a wave of the tail; a joker, old-fashioned)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To move quickly from side to side or up and down, especially a dog's tail. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wag/#m1)

2) To shake a finger at someone to show you disagree. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wag/#m2)

3) "Wag" or "wag school" means skip school without permission (Australian and New Zealand slang). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wag/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In animal safety lessons, a wagging tail does not always mean a dog is friendly; a stiff or high wag can mean it is nervous or angry, so ask the owner before patting. In stories, a dog's wagging tail shows happiness. Phrases: wag its tail, tongues wag (people gossip), wag a finger.

### examples

- The puppy wagged its tail when I came home. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wag/#x1)
- A wagging tail doesn't always mean a happy dog. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wag/#x2)
- Grandma wagged her finger at me. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wag/#x3)
- Tongues will wag if you do that. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wag/#x4)
- The dog's whole body wagged with joy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wag/#x5)
- Always ask before you pat a dog. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wag/#x6)

### note

Regular verb, double g: wagged, wagging. "Tongues wag" means people gossip. Safety: read the whole dog — ears, body and tail — not just the wag.

### In the corpora

- [A loose wide tail wag usually means a happy dog, but a stiff high wag can mean the dog is tense.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/24-wolves-and-dogs/13/)
- [A tail held high and stiff, even if it wags, can mean the dog is tense or excited, not friendly.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/21-reading-a-dog/12/)
- [On Chloe's third visit, the lurcher sniffs her shoe and gives one tiny wag.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/459-the-dog-that-wags-at-last-and-the-one-that-never-does/17/)
- [A frightened animal's trust grows in small signs, like a sniff or a tiny wag, often over weeks or months.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/459-the-dog-that-wags-at-last-and-the-one-that-never-does/29/)
- [Always ask the owner before touching any dog, even one that is wagging; a wagging tail does not always mean friendly.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/459-the-dog-that-wags-at-last-and-the-one-that-never-does/31/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «wag» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wag/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.