budge

1 of 3

noun

ˈbəj 

: a fur formerly prepared from lambskin dressed with the wool outward

budge

2 of 3

verb

budged; budging

intransitive verb

1

: move, shift

the mule wouldn't budge

2

: to give way : yield

wouldn't budge on the issue

transitive verb

: to cause to move or change

budge

3 of 3

adjective

archaic

: pompous, solemn

Synonyms of budge

Verb

• succumb
• concede
• submit
• surrender
• relent
• capitulate

Examples of budge in a Sentence

Verb

Their horses refused to budge.

The door was stuck, and we couldn't even get it to budge.

Could you try opening this jar for me? I can't budge the lid.

We tried to change her mind, but we couldn't budge her.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Technology has held up far better than the rest of the market lately, with the Nasdaq-100 barely budging during last week’s 628-point Dow selloff, even as the broader software group takes a breather after a strong summer run. — Tony Zhang, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026

Anything less would add to Iran’s economic pain but not enough to budge its strategic calculus. — Yash Roy, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026

However, exploratory talks for Sarr were not followed by a bid and sources have told The Athletic that only an astronomical offer would change Palace’s stance and, with other targets still in mind, Liverpool are unlikely to budge. — Jon MacKenzie, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026

But, nationally, the share of kindergarteners who received vaccine exemptions has risen less than one per cent since Kennedy took office, and the measles-vaccination rate has hardly budged. — Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English bugee, from Anglo-French buge

Verb

Anglo-French bouger, from Vulgar Latin *bullicare, from Latin bullire to boil — more at boil

Adjective

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1578, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Adjective

1599, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing budge

• give/budge an inch

Rhymes for budge

• drudge
• frage
• fudge
• grudge
• judge
• mudge
• nudge
• rudge
• sludge
• smudge
• trudge
• adjudge

Kids Definition

budge

verb

ˈbəj

budged; budging

1

: move entry 1 sense 1

2

: give in, yield

wouldn't budge on their opinion