budge
verb (used without object)
to move slightly; begin to move.
budge
1 American
[buhj]
/ bʌdʒ /
verb (used without object)
budges,
present (3rd person singular)
budged,
past participle, past
budging
present participle
-
to move slightly; begin to move.
He stepped on the gas but the car didn't budge.
-
to change one's opinion or stated position; yield.
Once her father had said “no,” he wouldn't budge.
verb (used with object)
budges,
present (3rd person singular)
budged,
past participle, past
budging
present participle
budge
2
American
[buhj]
/ bʌdʒ /
noun
adjective
-
made from, trimmed, or lined with budge.
-
Obsolete. pompous; solemn.
Budge
3
American
[buhj]
/ bʌdʒ /
noun
budge
1
British
/ bʌdʒ /
verb
-
to move, however slightly
the car won't budge
-
to change or cause to change opinions, etc
Budge
2
British
/ bʌdʒ /
noun
budge
3
British
/ bʌdʒ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
budgesimple
-
budgessimple
-
have budgedperfect
-
has budgedperfect
-
am budgingprogressive
-
are budgingprogressive
-
is budgingprogressive
-
have been budgingperfect progressive
-
has been budgingperfect progressive
Past
-
budgedsimple
-
had budgedperfect
-
was budgingprogressive
-
were budgingprogressive
-
had been budgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of budge1
1580–90; < Anglo-French, Middle French bouger to stir < Vulgar Latin *bullicāre to bubble, frequentative of Latin bullīre; see boil 1
Origin of budge2
1350–1400; Middle English bugee, perhaps akin to budget
Explanation
To budge is to move — but just a little bit. People can budge physically from where they're sitting or standing, and people can budge from opinions and positions too. If a bunch of your friends are sitting on a bench, and they're taking up too much space for you to sit, you could ask them to budge, meaning "Move over!" If you hate eggs and refuse to eat them no matter how they're cooked, you are refusing to budge from your anti-egg policy. Budge is most often used in a negative way, as in "I won't budge" or "They wouldn't budge." This word often applies to stubborn people. Since budge means to move just a tiny bit, what's the big deal? Someone who accuses you of not budging is basically saying you should.
Vocabulary lists containing budge
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List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Then, it stopped moving entirely—and for 27 years, it somehow didn’t budge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
That will keep the share price moving higher, even if GM’s market value doesn’t budge.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
When the shopper pushed for the advertised price, the dealer wouldn’t budge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
For one thing, the state will absolutely not budge.
From Slate ● May 26, 2026
She spurred him on, but he wouldn’t budge.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
At 22 and nearly nine months, Alcaraz is now the youngest man to win all four majors, breaking an 87-year-old record held by the American Don Budge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
McLean said Budge was described as "pale white and shook up" after the incident.
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026
Neither Dr Budge nor Dr Chatterjee have treated Mr Kennedy or have any specific knowledge of his health history.
From BBC ● May 8, 2024
Meanwhile, Smith goes through more emotional disintegration, chasing Budge as she flies past, out of reach, gazing elsewhere.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2022
They stay in Ballygunge, Tollygunge, Salt Lake, Budge Budge, ferried by endless bumpy taxi rides back and forth through the city.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Despite the difficulties and dilemmas, her friends and colleagues agree she is not someone who budges easily.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2024
And without Notre Dame, it’s increasingly unlikely the Big Ten budges — for now.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2022
Even if that number never budges in the current crisis, the damage is already here.
From New York Times ● Aug. 21, 2020
Over the next four hours, Macdonald barely budges from his seat in the two-bedroom condo he recently bought in a planned community not far from the airport.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2016
The strength of the resulting earthquake depends on how much energy has built up in the fault before it budges, how much of the fault slips, and how far it moves.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
But despite some “incredible” offers, they haven’t budged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
New York City secured the top position and hasn’t budged since.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
At the same time, balances for the bottom four quintiles barely budged, staying below inflation rates.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
There is one important metric, however, that hasn’t moved much as the rally has continued to rip higher: While prices have climbed, forward price-to-earnings ratios for semiconductors have hardly budged.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
But Thomas Jefferson and James Madison disagreed and could not be budged from their position.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Natural-gas prices, meanwhile, are down 8% in 2026 after barely budging in 2025.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Eastern time on Sunday, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat, and S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq Composite futures were barely budging higher.
From Barron's ● Dec. 7, 2025
Steve Parker, the head of Boeing’s defense business, said in a letter to workers earlier this month that the company was willing to make modifications without budging on the overall contract’s value.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025
Unlike others in the crowded race for governor, who are likely to drop out if Harris jumps in, L.A.’s former mayor said he’s not budging.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
But Marlena is gazing at Silver Star with an expression that makes it perfectly clear she’s not budging.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
