sashay

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verb

sa·​shay sa-ˈshā How to pronounce sashay (audio)
 also  sī-
sashayed; sashaying; sashays

intransitive verb

1
a
: to strut or move about in an ostentatious or conspicuous manner
The model sashayed down the runway.
Rinna is sashaying down a street in one of Sutton's designer gowns for some reason!Jodi Walker
Her friends had long whispered to her about Lute's sleek good looks, and the way he sashayed about the island as if he owned it.Dorothy West
b
: walk, glide, go
Fans should enjoy Mexico goalie Jorge Campos, with his pink-and-lime-green outfits and the way he sashays upfield, far from his goal, when the spirit moves him.The New York Times
With his cowboy wisdom and irreverent wit, he sashayed into America's heart early this century and has remained there ever since.People Weekly
c
: to proceed or move in a diagonal or sideways manner
The hook dangling from the airplane's tail is supposed to clear the ramp by at least 10 feet; but the ramp itself, in heavy seas, may be rising and falling 15 feet and sashaying side to side in a figure-eight as well.Peter Garrison
2
: to make a chassé

sashay

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noun

1
2
: a square-dance figure in which partners sidestep in a circle around each other with the man moving behind the woman
3

Did you know?

Sashay slid into English as an alteration of the French borrowing chassé, which refers to a dance step in which a slide on one foot is followed closely by a slide on the other foot. (It comes from the French verb chasser, meaning "to chase.") Authors such as Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston, and John Updike have all put their names on the word’s proverbial dance card, enjoying the liveliness sashay adds to prose. More recently, it has been strutting its stuff as a refrain on RuPaul’s Drag Race since 2009: a queen does not skulk when voted out of the race, but proudly sashays offstage. From classic literature to the runway, sashay continues to dance its way through English with attitude. Now, sashay away.

Examples of sashay in a Sentence

Verb The model sashayed down the runway. She sashayed into the room. Noun just a little weekend sashay we took to get away from it all
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
In the great tradition of... every episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, for each queen that sets foot inside the studio for a new day in the Werk Room, one — or, sometimes, two — must sashay away to join the growing sisterhood of Drag Race eliminations. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2024 One of the six four-story beachfront villas along 540 feet of prime ocean frontage at The Bath Club complex in Miami Beach has sashayed onto the market with a $29.9 million price tag. Mark David, Robb Report, 17 Jan. 2024 Marie follows along, sashaying in front of a Christmas tree as her parents look on. Jeong Park, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2023 Some packed themselves into the snug booth for a couple of hours of conversation with friends (or strangers that quickly felt like friends), while others sashayed throughout the restaurant, which essentially became a dancefloor in its entirety for the night. Jamila Stewart, Vogue, 8 Dec. 2023 RuPaul’s Drag Race, which recently crowned its season 15 winner Sasha Colby, has been a mainstay in pop culture since sashaying onto TV screens in 2009. Nigel Smith, Peoplemag, 6 June 2023 Until Swift sashayed into the room, at least: Just to say hi, give a shout out to her dancers (some of whom were in the audience) and thank everyone for coming. Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023 In the clip from the original fashion show, Harlow steps in front of Valetta to pose at the end of the runway before sashaying hard to catch up with her and walk side by side to close the show. Emily Kirkpatrick, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2023 Elsewhere, Christine and the Queens transforms his recent albums into a theatrical tour-de-force; Noname embarks on her biggest ever run; and Lana Del Rey is sashaying into the southern states. Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 12 Sep. 2023
Noun
The animal kingdom has no shortage of dance moves, from flamingoes’ synchronized sashays to the waltzes of scorpions. Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Mar. 2024 From Symone and Willow Pill's budding legacies and Raja's avant-garde aesthetic to Sasha Velour's drag activism, Kylie Sonique Love and Sasha Colby's barrier-breaking beauty, and Jimbo's sashay around the worldwide runway, each victor represents the diversity of talent synonymous with the brand. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2023 Love Is an Ex-country, by Randa Jarrar In this fragmented memoir that stitches together Jarrar’s many excursions through America and beyond in her 30s, the writer doesn’t so much drive as saunter across the country—sashay, roll, meander, and play around in it. Emma Copley Eisenberg, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2024 Duarte watched Kitara sashay before the audience and lip sync a few numbers. Marina Dias, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2023 Certainly, the way that guy fashioned his pants—tight, tapered; made for a lush, unhurried sashay—suggested joy more than pain, bold self-expression more than colonial objectification. Raksha Vasudevan, Harper's BAZAAR, 9 May 2023 Sagittarius season begins on November 22 as the Sun enters the Archer’s court for a monthlong sashay through your eleventh house of group activity and friendship. ELLE, 30 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sashay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

alteration of chassé

First Known Use

Verb

1836, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sashay was in 1836

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Dictionary Entries Near sashay

Cite this Entry

“Sashay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sashay. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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