shimmy

[shim-ee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shimmy ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural shim·mies.

an American ragtime dance marked by shaking of the hips and shoulders.

excessive wobbling in the front wheels of a motor vehicle.

a chemise.

verb (used without object), shim·mied, shim·my·ing.

to dance the shimmy.

to shake, wobble, or vibrate.

Origin of shimmy

1830–40, for def 3; 1915–20 for def 1; back formation and respelling of chemise, construed as a plural

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for shimmied

wobble, dance, vibrate

Examples from the Web for shimmied

Contemporary Examples of shimmied

As she gyrated and shimmied at the VMAs on Sunday night, Taylor Swift did not seem like a person under attack.
Why We Should Hate 'Haters Gonna Hate'
Tim Teeman
August 25, 2014
In a tucked-in black t-shirt and slacks, the seemingly average Joe shimmied and shaked to the bassline.
Future Islands Frontman Samuel T. Herring on Their 11-Year Journey to Letterman and Viral Stardom
Marlow Stern
April 3, 2014
Ringo clapped; Yoko flashed peace signs; Steven Tyler tumbled for ya; Beyoncé shimmied; and Katy Perry threw “Roar” punches.
The Grammys Train Wreck: An Insult to Lou Reed, Hip-Hop, and Good Taste
Marlow Stern
January 27, 2014

British Dictionary definitions for shimmied

shimmy

noun plural -mies

an American ragtime dance with much shaking of the hips and shoulders

abnormal wobbling motion in a motor vehicle, esp in the front wheels or steering

an informal word for chemise

verb -mies, -mying or -mied (intr)

to dance the shimmy

to vibrate or wobble

Word Origin for shimmy

C19: changed from chemise, mistakenly assumed to be plural

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shimmied

shimmy

"do a suggestive dance," 1918, perhaps via phrase shake the shimmy, which is possibly from shimmy (n.), a U.S. dialectal form of chemise (mistaken as a plural; cf. shammy) first recorded 1837. Or perhaps the verb is related to shimmer (v.) via a notion of glistening light. Transferred sense of "vibration of a motor vehicle" is from 1925. Related: Shimmied; shimmying. As a noun, the name of a popular, fast, suggestive pre-flapper dance, by 1919.