shimmy
[ shim-ee ]
/ ˈʃɪm i /
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.
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Nearby words
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
Examples from the Web for shimmied
As she gyrated and shimmied at the VMAs on Sunday night, Taylor Swift did not seem like a person under attack.
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|DAILY BEAST
British Dictionary definitions for shimmied
shimmy
/ (ˈʃɪmɪ) /
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper