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.
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Noun
So this thing pays you a 60% higher yield than a 10-year Treasury and barely budges when the stock market freaks out.—John Melloy, CNBC, 12 June 2025 This semi-permanent, ultra-matte liquid eyeliner delivers intense color that won’t crack, bleed, or budge—no matter how long your day (or night) runs.—Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 18 May 2025
Verb
The inconvenience, or in some cases hardship, of a shutdown has become wrapped up in the blame each side is assigning to the other, with neither party willing to budge over Democratic demands on healthcare.—Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 17 Oct. 2025 Continue reading … DEMS DIG IN – Federal workers face mass firings as Democrats refuse to budge on shutdown battle.—FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Despite the unprecedented capabilities – and uncanny, seemingly humanlike qualities – of generative AI, the limit on how much human work can be fully automated will continue to only very slowly budge.—Eric Siegel, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025 The labor participation rate fell, and the main reason the unemployment rate didn’t budge was because more workers left the labor force.—Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 3 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for budge
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
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