jitterbug
Americannoun
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a strenuously acrobatic dance consisting of a few standardized steps augmented by twirls, splits, somersaults, etc., popular especially in the early 1940s and performed chiefly to boogie-woogie and swing.
-
a person who dances the jitterbug.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a fast jerky American dance, usually to a jazz accompaniment, that was popular in the 1940s
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a person who dances the jitterbug
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a highly nervous or excitable person
verb
Other Word Forms
- jitterbugger noun
Etymology
Origin of jitterbug
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.
His cameos as Blazes Boylan, jitterbugging across the stage with the self-satisfied air of a country rake, were not just enlivening but renewing, capturing the character in a new idiom.
From Los Angeles Times
It references to Audrey Hepburn and British supermodel Twiggy, and the frenetic editing and jitterbug choreography make it a unique entry in her videography.
From BBC
Whatever its exact journey, the suit spread like wildfire among hep cats who were into jitterbug and swing.
From Los Angeles Times
Valdez conceived El Pachuco as the embodiment of the outrageously stylish young batos he used to spot around town, who spoke a Cantinflas-meets-Raymond-Chandler patois called caló and jitterbugged at clubs from Boyle Heights to Bakersfield.
From Los Angeles Times
In the Tigers’ huddle, coach Norm Stewart’s plan was to disrupt the jitterbug point guard.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
