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
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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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:
If Acme won’t budge, small-estate probate could provide a more-than-adequate safety net.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
Yet hardliners in Japan’s imperial cabinet wouldn’t budge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Use a liquid lip product, Skinner says, because it won't budge.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
For one thing, the state will absolutely not budge.
From Slate ● May 26, 2026
Both of them were arrested for refusing to give up their seats on Montgomery’s segregated buses, just months before Rosa Parks refused to budge.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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
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
Rod Laver and Don Budge are the two men to have done it.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2023
He never had a formal lesson, but said he learned the sport by watching other players and reading a how-to guide by Budge, the Grand Slam champion.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 9, 2023
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
And without Notre Dame, it’s increasingly unlikely the Big Ten budges — for now.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2022
If neither side budges from its current demands, the talks—which have been in hiatus for five months—are likely to go nowhere, in which case we will see the sharpening of tensions or worse.
From Slate ● Nov. 29, 2021
By contrast, the number of borrowed shares of the Dow Industrials barely budges around dividend record dates.
From Washington Post ● May 3, 2016
The strength of the resulting earthquake depends on how much energy has built up in the fault before it budges, how much of the fault slips, and how far it moves.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
More than a century later, the vocabulary has modernized, but the underlying idea has barely budged.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
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
In the undergraduate space, federal loan limits haven’t budged since 2008, yet colleges have still raised their prices.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Maddie budged over a little and made room for another body beneath the umbrella.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
RTX won more missile business, so why isn’t the stock budging?
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
If they’re still not budging, you can request other concessions, such as a discounted deposit, free parking or a waived pet fee.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
Itauma continued to fire combinations but Hrgovic was barely budging.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Chevron and Exxon Mobil were barely budging on the heels of first-quarter earnings, falling 0.3% and rising 0.6%, respectively.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
“They’re not budging just now on anything, Kabuo. You’re here until your trial, I think.”
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
