shimmy

noun

shim·my | \ ˈshi-mē

plural shimmies

Definition of shimmy

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 [ by alteration ] : chemise

2 [ short for shimmy-shake ] : a jazz dance characterized by a shaking of the body from the shoulders down

3 : an abnormal vibration especially in the front wheels of a motor vehicle

shimmy

verb

shimmied; shimmying

Definition of shimmy (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to shake, quiver, or tremble in or as if in dancing a shimmy

2 : to vibrate abnormally —used especially of automobiles

3 : shinny

Examples of shimmy in a Sentence

Verb

They were shimmying on the dance floor. I shimmied into my jacket. One of the car's wheels was shimmying.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The variously slinky and driven choreography features such sidelights as pratfalls, teasingly competitive back-and-forth accents, sassy shoulder shimmies and snappy hand jives. — Robert Greskovic, WSJ, "‘Minimalism and Me’ Review: Twyla Tharp Tells Her Story," 19 Nov. 2018 Then there would have to be a general acknowledgment, even among those who can’t stand Stephen Curry’s shimmy and Draymond Green’s Draymondness, that the Warriors are real. — Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, "The Warriors, looking beyond the moment to the greatness that awaits," 13 May 2018 After Niko shimmies into a red dress, Gvatua needs to strap him into the studded bra. — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, "Meet Gerilyn, Tbilisi’s Queen of Drag," 21 Nov. 2018 The 30-year-old then followed up the shot with a shimmy celebration, much to his head coach's amusement. — Nihal Kolur, SI.com, "Steve Kerr on Stephen Curry: 'If You Shimmy When You’re 1-11, That’s Confidence'," 21 May 2018 And sure enough, within seconds, Olivia somehow hoists herself herself over the crib and shimmies down to the ground. — Aurelie Corinthios, PEOPLE.com, "Quintuplet Parents Struggle to Contain Their 'Little Escape Artist' as She Climbs Out of Crib," 10 July 2018 In the video, which dropped Tuesday morning—just hours after the exuberance of Memorial Day barbecues finally faded into workweek torpor—a visibly pregnant Cardi shimmies down the block, adorned in jewel tones and copious statement jewelry. — Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, "Cardi B’s ‘I Like It’ Is the Song of the Summer," 29 May 2018 The point guard reacted with a shimmy as Curry ran by him. — Jenna West, SI.com, "Watch: Chris Paul Shimmies in Stephen Curry's Face After Hitting a Three," 24 May 2018 Ere long a torch song singer was crooning some Jazz Age hits and the dance floor was crowded with flappers in fringed black shimmy frocks and their tuxedoed swains, giving us full-on Chicago in New York. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, "Hamish Bowles Goes Inside Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Moda and Sartoria Events in New York City," 9 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Or perhaps Diggsy and Thielen, shimmying in their chairs, can turn this vision into reality too. — Alex Prewitt, SI.com, "Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs Just Need Someone to Throw Them the Damn Ball," 10 Jan. 2018 The courts of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, and Kensington Palace are set to shimmy into new positions to take the monarchy forward. — Juliet Rieden, Town & Country, "How Queen Elizabeth Will Pass the Torch to Prince Charles and the Rest of the Royal Family in 2019," 5 Jan. 2019 Pretty much everyone here appears to be feeling the love, whether joyously shimmying on the dance floor or huddled around one of four horseshoe bars, grooving in place on their barstools. — Samantha Melamed, Philly.com, "Why Jerry Blavat loves me (and literally everyone else at Memories in Margate)," 11 July 2018 Instead of LeBron shimmying at Doris Burke during his postgame interview, Steph gets to smirk his way through clichés. — Rohan Nadkarni, SI.com, "J.R. Smith Will Never Be Forgiven," 1 June 2018 Hers was an English-countryside childhood spent riding horses and shimmying up giant oaks. — Vogue, "How These 12 Boundary-Breaking Designers Continue to Think Globally," 13 Aug. 2018 Almost as weird as the hostess shimmying us to our table. — Will Mccollister, SI.com, "Rockets Fans Troll Ayesha Curry's New Restauraunt with Bad Yelp Reviews," 20 June 2018 The band played late into the night, and Vuitton CEO Yves Carcelle was one of the last shimmying on the dance floor. — Mraz, Town & Country, "A Venetian Affair," 20 Dec. 2012 And here’s where the impossibility of this team comes to bear: On any given night, when Curry is shimmying and shooting and Thompson is his metronomic shooting self, Durant is the team’s third option. — Michael Powell, New York Times, "LeBron James Delivered. Now Does He Exit?," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shimmy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.