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. 2018

Examples from the Web for shimmied

Contemporary Examples

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

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

v.

"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.

shimmy

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}shimmy

Examples from the Web for shimmied

Contemporary Examples

As she gyrated and shimmied at the VMAs on Sunday night, Taylor Swift did not seem like a person under attack.

In a tucked-in black t-shirt and slacks, the seemingly average Joe shimmied and shaked to the bassline.

Ringo clapped; Yoko flashed peace signs; Steven Tyler tumbled for ya; Beyoncé shimmied; and Katy Perry threw “Roar” punches.

shimmy

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for shimmied

shimmy

v.

Origin of shimmy