shimmy
Americannoun
plural
shimmies-
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)
-
to dance the shimmy.
-
to shake, wobble, or vibrate.
noun
-
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
-
to dance the shimmy
-
to vibrate or wobble
Usage
What does shimmy mean? The shimmy is a dance move that involves repeated shaking of the shoulders and hips, as in The dancer entranced the audience with her hypnotizing shimmy. Shimmy can also mean to perform the specific dance or to shake or wobble in general, as in The puppy shimmied through the tight doggy door. The noun shimmy may be accompanied by a term that says specifically which part of the body a person is shaking, as in I celebrated my big win with a shoulder shimmy. The plural of shimmy is shimmies. Example: The singer shimmied along with the back-up dancers during the guitar solo.
Etymology
Origin of shimmy
First recorded in 1830–40 shimmy for def. 3; 1915–20 shimmy for def. 1; back formation and respelling of chemise, construed as a plural
Vocabulary lists containing shimmy
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.
So he does a little shimmy and the result is humiliation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 16, 2025
“Growing up, I always loved belly-dance belts. It has that shimmy, where I can dance a little bit.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2025
“Thinking about it in an abstract way helps me shimmy my feathers for the coins.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2025
A shimmy from Antoine Dupont sets up a couple of minutes of relentless pressure from the hosts until a knock-on under the posts gives Quins a much-needed breather.
From BBC • May 4, 2024
I climbed back to the tire-swing rope and was just about to shimmy down when I heard a man's voice and a woman's voice.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
