shimmy
Americannoun
-
shimmies
plural
-
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)
-
shimmies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shimmied,
past participle, past
-
shimmying
present participle
-
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.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shimmysimple
-
shimmiessimple
-
have shimmiedperfect
-
has shimmiedperfect
-
am shimmyingprogressive
-
are shimmyingprogressive
-
is shimmyingprogressive
-
have been shimmyingperfect progressive
-
has been shimmyingperfect progressive
Past
-
shimmiedsimple
-
had shimmiedperfect
-
was shimmyingprogressive
-
were shimmyingprogressive
-
had been shimmyingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
A little shimmy in the area to feint away from a defender, then a precise curling finish into the top corner.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
You could walk through a grocery store, hear “Billie Jean” playing over the sound system, and shimmy your shoulders, feeling slightly less guilty than you might’ve during the aughts.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
Disneyland’s Main Street certainly should be lined with fans March 26 when — as described on the Disneyland web site — “the Savannah Bananas shimmy, shake and strut their way through an unforgettable cavalcade!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
Days later, he broke out Olajuwon’s signature close-range shimmy, known as the “Dream Shake.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
She may be huffing from the effort of climbing the hill, but that doesn’t stop her from doing a little shimmy.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
“Last Night” shimmies its way toward an eventual crescendo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
De la Huerta shimmies toward Monroe in homage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2025
An electric knifefish shimmies in the water for the same reason a dog sniffs or a human glances around a new place -- to make sense of their surroundings.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2023
Despite a few didactic lines of dialogue about Danish drinking culture, “Another Round” mostly shimmies its way out of moral or social questions.
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2020
She drops forward suddenly at the waist, throws her head back, and shimmies.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
“She just pushed that duct tape up and shimmied right out of that chair,” Roebuck recalls.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
In Paris, onstage at the Accor Arena, Dean shimmied and swayed, tossed her hair with her hands and spurred the crowd to sing along.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
In the video, Barrymore showed off her playful side as she shimmied around her mobile living space, while giving fans a tour of its humble amenities—all while singer Enya’s “Caribbean Blue” played in the background.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
He shimmied away from the only remaining defender, spotted Schmeichel off his line, and chipped him from the halfway line with a shot that defied belief and perhaps gravity itself.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2025
Once, when Lommy Gteenhands had the watch, she shimmied up an oak and moved from tree to tree until she was right above his head, and he never saw a thing.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Passengers were shimmying in practically every nook and cranny in the auditorium.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Because this is a low-key charity gig, the staging and lighting are minimal; but the star makes the room shrink, shimmying around in a jade green ballgown with irrepressible energy.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
Around her, dancers of all ages shook their hips to Arabic music, shimmying barefoot as a woman with a neck tattoo played the derbake, a traditional drum.
From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2025
I’d boogie to “Boogie Fever,” clap to “Born To Be Alive” and sashay to “I Will Survive,” inches from shimmying into the La-Z-Boy or Travolta-armsing our Airedale.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2024
The automobile had a black canvas roof, slotted rubber tires, and a brass horn, and was shimmying and shaking and backfiring to beat the band.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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.
