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

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

There’s plenty more twerking, and Meg even plays the role of Cupid in a corset and wings with a bow and arrow, searching for love. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 24 Oct. 2025

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