twerking

noun

twerk·​ing ˈtwər-kiŋ 

: sexually suggestive dancing characterized by rapid, repeated hip thrusts and shaking of the buttocks especially while squatting

… twerking has become a catch-all for an overtly sexualized style of dancing wherein one manipulates the hips and posterior in an often hypnotic and physics-defying bounce.

—Luke O'Neil

twerk

ˈtwərk 

intransitive verb

twerked; twerking; twerks

As my family watched in horror, I began to twerk, crouching down and bouncing my booty …

—Libby Gelman-Waxner

Examples of twerking in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Copeland represented modern ballet, while more dancers deployed twerking, breakdancing, Xiqu, Zaouli, and more. —Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2026

Even the twerking was beautifully choreographed. —Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 13 Feb. 2026

This was the first of many awooga visuals to come—mass twerking, a fleeting shot of guy-on-guy grinding, and Bad Bunny executing his trademark crotch thrust. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2026

On January 8—one week after Zohran Mamdani was inaugurated as mayor of New York City on January 1—the model shared a carousel to Instagram that included a video of her twerking in what looks to be a bodega, wearing a black bra-like top and a black thong-baring semi-sheer skirt. —Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 9 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

twerk, phonesthemic coinage, perhaps with elements of twist entry 1 and jerk entry 1

First Known Use

2001, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for twerking

• clerking
• jerking
• lurking
• shirking
• smirking
• working
• hardworking
• networking
• nonworking
• reworking
• woodworking
• interworking