Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Origin: Perhaps copying the action

squirm

 verb
     
squirm [intransitive]
1 to twist your body from side to side because you are uncomfortable or nervous, or to get free from something which is holding you [= wriggle]:
Christine squirmed uncomfortably in her chair.
The boy tried to squirm free.
2 to feel very embarrassed or ashamed
squirm with
He made me squirm with embarrassment.
—squirm noun [singular]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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