jitterbug
Americannoun
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jitterbugs
plural
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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.
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a person who dances the jitterbug.
verb (used without object)
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jitterbugs,
present (3rd person singular)
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jitterbugged,
past participle, past
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jitterbugging
present participle
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jitterbugsimple
-
jitterbugssimple
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have jitterbuggedperfect
-
has jitterbuggedperfect
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am jitterbuggingprogressive
-
are jitterbuggingprogressive
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is jitterbuggingprogressive
-
have been jitterbuggingperfect progressive
-
has been jitterbuggingperfect progressive
Past
-
jitterbuggedsimple
-
had jitterbuggedperfect
-
was jitterbuggingprogressive
-
were jitterbuggingprogressive
-
had been jitterbuggingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jitterbug
Vocabulary lists containing 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.
See Examples For:
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 ● Sep. 10, 2024
How about switching onto a jitterbug of a point guard?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
The Germans banned jazz, but wherever they went, U.S. soldiers, known as GIs, introduced locals to jazz and the jitterbug, popular back in the States.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
Its somewhat deceptive jitterbug vibe is accompanied by World War II-era recordings by the Andrews Sisters, leading many to believe it was an antiwar piece, but Taylor denied this.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 8, 2021
You can cross over, or do some corny dips, or even jitterbug a little, and she stays right with you.
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
Another fascinating juxtaposition happened with the dancing, since de Mille’s choreography was supplemented with jitterbugs devised by the king of Harlem ballrooms, Herbert White, who brought along his troupe.
From New York Times ● Jan. 7, 2021
The work emphasizes kinetic folk traditions, whether that means sacred Native American rituals, jazz-club jitterbugs or farmworker jigs.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 25, 2016
"Starting off, I had a few jitterbugs, but once I touched the field and saw how the atmosphere was, I got pretty comfortable," Wilson said.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 5, 2010
In Eastern cities and towns last week, jitterbugs by the thousand laid their dollars on the line to hear a new dance band.
From Time Magazine Archive
At this moment Reynie felt sure they were made of jitterbugs.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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 ● Jun. 2, 2023
The computer screens jitterbugged as the information flowed into the market in an entirely new way — lingering there long enough to trade.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2014
At one, in Mold, in Flintshire, they jived and jitterbugged all day long at a 1950s-themed do.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2012
I hadn’t taken a test on anything since college, so anxieties I hadn’t felt in a long time jitterbugged their way through my stomach.
From Slate ● Jan. 12, 2012
The bottles started bubbling, gently at first, but then they began to shake faster and faster until the whole table jitterbugged.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
The music that occasionally breaks outs encourages jitterbugging.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2023
Today, the “damas” or “big mothers” as the dancers are known, can be found dancing in the early mornings and evenings, blasting their stereos, waving fans and scarves, while jitterbugging, waltzing and jiving.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 17, 2021
Think of the frowns on slow body-touching dancing or jitterbugging, beep-bop, jazz, rock n roll, miniskirts, facial makeup, tight pants, kissing in public, unchaperoned dates, and on and on.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 4, 2019
If you showed up late on a weekend, the obstacle course from the front door to the bar could include navigating through the band and the couples jitterbugging on the makeshift dance floor.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2015
She started jitterbugging with me-- but just very nice and easy, not corny.
From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
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.
