twerk

[ twurk ]

verb (used without object)
  1. to dance by thrusting or shaking the buttocks and hips while in a squatting or bent-over position, often to music originating in African American and Caribbean culture.

verb (used with object)
  1. to thrust or shake (the buttocks or hips) while in a squatting or bent-over position as part of a dance often done to music originating in African American and Caribbean culture.

noun
  1. a dance or dance move involving thrusting or shaking the buttocks and hips while squatting or bent over, often done to music originating in African American and Caribbean culture.

Origin of twerk

1
An Americanism first recorded in 1990–95; possibly an alteration of work, as in work it “to show off one's body through movement or posing”; may be related to the earlier (1820–30) sense “a twisting or jerking movement,” from tw(ist) + (j)erk1

Words Nearby twerk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use twerk in a sentence

  • "I hardly realize it yet that you are my really truly coz," and she gave the girl's long, brown braids a familiar twerk.