noun

shimmy

SHIH-mee

noun

A dance move involving rapid, alternating shaking of the shoulders or hips.

"She broke into a little shimmy on the dance floor."

An abnormal side-to-side vibration, especially in a vehicle's wheels.

"The front wheel developed a shimmy at high speed."

verb

To move with a shaking, side-to-side motion, or to dance in this way.

"He shimmied along the narrow ledge."

"The dancers shimmied across the stage."

How to Use Shimmy

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA quick side-to-side shaking movement, whether it is a dance step or an unwanted wobble in a wheel.

Common pairings

do a shimmy shimmy up a pole a wheel shimmy

shimmied past tense, shimmies plural, shimmies singular

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She broke into a little _____ on the dance floor.

Believed to be a back-formation from chemise (a type of undergarment), mistaken for a plural form.

Jimmy Timmy Kimmy