budge
verb (used without object)
to move slightly; begin to move.
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budge
1 American
[buhj]
/ bʌdʒ /
verb (used without object)
-
budges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
budged,
past participle, past
-
budging
present participle
-
to move slightly; begin to move.
He stepped on the gas but the car didn't budge.
-
to change one's opinion or stated position; yield.
Once her father had said “no,” he wouldn't budge.
verb (used with object)
-
budges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
budged,
past participle, past
-
budging
present participle
budge
2
American
[buhj]
/ bʌdʒ /
noun
adjective
-
made from, trimmed, or lined with budge.
-
Obsolete. pompous; solemn.
Budge
3
American
[buhj]
/ bʌdʒ /
noun
budge
1
British
/ bʌdʒ /
verb
-
to move, however slightly
the car won't budge
-
to change or cause to change opinions, etc
Budge
2
British
/ bʌdʒ /
noun
budge
3
British
/ bʌdʒ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
budgesimple
-
budgessimple
-
have budgedperfect
-
has budgedperfect
-
am budgingprogressive
-
are budgingprogressive
-
is budgingprogressive
-
have been budgingperfect progressive
-
has been budgingperfect progressive
Past
-
budgedsimple
-
had budgedperfect
-
was budgingprogressive
-
were budgingprogressive
-
had been budgingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of budge1
1580–90; < Anglo-French, Middle French bouger to stir < Vulgar Latin *bullicāre to bubble, frequentative of Latin bullīre; see boil 1
Origin of budge2
1350–1400; Middle English bugee, perhaps akin to budget
Explanation
To budge is to move — but just a little bit. People can budge physically from where they're sitting or standing, and people can budge from opinions and positions too. If a bunch of your friends are sitting on a bench, and they're taking up too much space for you to sit, you could ask them to budge, meaning "Move over!" If you hate eggs and refuse to eat them no matter how they're cooked, you are refusing to budge from your anti-egg policy. Budge is most often used in a negative way, as in "I won't budge" or "They wouldn't budge." This word often applies to stubborn people. Since budge means to move just a tiny bit, what's the big deal? Someone who accuses you of not budging is basically saying you should.
Vocabulary lists containing budge
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List 1
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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:
Use a liquid lip product, Skinner says, because it won't budge.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Even the pandemic didn’t cause that number to budge — it has remained consistent for over a decade.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
When the shopper pushed for the advertised price, the dealer wouldn’t budge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
For one thing, the state will absolutely not budge.
From Slate ● May 26, 2026
George tries his best to gently unravel the sheet, to get busy with his part of the rescue, but Lark refuses to budge from her cocoon.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
At 22 and nearly nine months, Alcaraz is now the youngest man to win all four majors, breaking an 87-year-old record held by the American Don Budge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 1, 2026
In tennis history, Alcaraz surpassed Don Budge, who had won the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open by the age of 22 years and 355 days in 1938.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2026
Lord Arthurson warned Budge to expect a "significant custodial sentence" when he is sentenced next month.
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026
“Police are supposed to de-escalate, but here the sergeant did the opposite,” Budge said in a written statement.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
They stay in Ballygunge, Tollygunge, Salt Lake, Budge Budge, ferried by endless bumpy taxi rides back and forth through the city.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Despite the difficulties and dilemmas, her friends and colleagues agree she is not someone who budges easily.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2024
If neither side budges, Mr. Orsini said he is prepared to go to trial, an expensive and time-consuming process that will likely require, among other things, that the boy be deposed.
From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2018
By contrast, the number of borrowed shares of the Dow Industrials barely budges around dividend record dates.
From Washington Post ● May 3, 2016
Imagine these watery budges as two long waves that move over Earth as the planet rotates.
From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2014
I feel twin surges of pride and panic as no one budges.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
But despite some “incredible” offers, they haven’t budged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Hiring as a share of employment has barely budged in two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
A key gauge of expectations of where consumer prices are headed on Wall Street — the 10-year break-even inflation rate — has barely budged since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
A gauge that measures average expected inflation rate over a five-year period beginning exactly five years from today has barely budged, up just 0.14% points since the war started.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
The underlying mortgage loans were already going sour, and yet the prices of the bonds backed by the loans hadn’t budged.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
Big companies keep trumpeting return-to-office mandates, but the amount of time that Americans work remotely is barely budging.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Chevron and Exxon Mobil were barely budging on the heels of first-quarter earnings, falling 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
For now, the recommended strategy is that “AI equity leadership ain’t budging for the time being.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2025
Unlike others in the crowded race for governor, who are likely to drop out if Harris jumps in, L.A.’s former mayor said he’s not budging.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
Mr. Brademas, the principal, is urging everyone to move on to their lockers, but nobody’s budging.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
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.
