plural shimmies
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
shimmied; shimmying
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
Journal Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2024
The clip closed with what might be Kate’s most deliberate shimmy of all.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023
Children and adults alike wave rally flags, smack thunder sticks together and dance along to pulsing music as the Liberty’s mascot, Ellie the Elephant, twerks and shimmies around the court.
—Claire Fahy, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023
Anderson calls a timeout and shimmies into the luggage hold to defrost the Labatt Blue.
—BostonGlobe.com, 24 July 2023
Although the dancers in the ensemble moved in unison, their performance was personalized and established a character arc for each performer within the cheeky choreography — shimmies and all.
—Steven Vargas, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023
The exuberance and confidence informed her array of disarming moves — pop-and-lock combinations, aggressive shimmies, shoulder rolls, rump shakes, move-outta-the-way prances — usually executed in choreographed routines with her dance squad.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 23 July 2023
A couple holding cocktails by the bar shimmy; two women heading for the restrooms are compelled to dance their way through the crowd.
—Sophia Solano, Washington Post, 1 June 2023
He was greeted in the locker room with a celebration spray and broke out in a handroll and a few shimmies. 2022 Sweet 16 berth After beating No. 2 Auburn in the second round of the 2022 tournament, Miami was headed back to the Sweet 16.
—Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2023
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 May 2024
But Take Note The tunnels are a bit narrow, so older or taller children might have a hard time shimmying through.
—Heather Balogh Rochfort, Parents, 18 May 2024
Fleabag creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge is vaulting, shimmying, and exploring her way from Indiana Jones to the realm of Lara Croft as the writer and executive producer of a new live-action Tomb Raider TV series at Amazon Prime Video.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 14 May 2024
Those who shimmied through the crowds on Washington Boulevard into Pickles at just the right time were treated with a free Coors Light courtesy of the new Orioles ownership group, who were introduced during an 11 a.m. news conference.
—Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 28 Mar. 2024
Sanchez had changed out of her glittering Oscar de la Renta gown and into a slightly more mobile strapless white number, fit for shimmying against the matching white leather seats.
—Zachary Weiss, Vogue, 7 May 2024
Last night in Los Angeles, Anya Taylor-Joy shimmied into a corseted gown and strapped on 72 carats of jewelry to celebrate Tiffany & Co. Blue Book’s latest Céleste collection.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 26 Apr. 2024
Just listen to how her wispy vocals insist on love in a way reminiscent of countdown-to-Y2K music by Aaliyah and Janet, her room-to-breathe productions shimmying and sauntering with a palette of pop sounds gone by.
—Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
But now, clusters of them have shimmied up toward the sky like upside-down palms.
—Chloe Sachdev, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
No doubt inspired by Ray and Saliers' shimmies at the start of the song, a few fans came down to the edge of the stage to dance.
—Journal Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2024
The clip closed with what might be Kate’s most deliberate shimmy of all.
—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023
Children and adults alike wave rally flags, smack thunder sticks together and dance along to pulsing music as the Liberty’s mascot, Ellie the Elephant, twerks and shimmies around the court.
—Claire Fahy, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023
Anderson calls a timeout and shimmies into the luggage hold to defrost the Labatt Blue.
—BostonGlobe.com, 24 July 2023
Although the dancers in the ensemble moved in unison, their performance was personalized and established a character arc for each performer within the cheeky choreography — shimmies and all.
—Steven Vargas, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023
The exuberance and confidence informed her array of disarming moves — pop-and-lock combinations, aggressive shimmies, shoulder rolls, rump shakes, move-outta-the-way prances — usually executed in choreographed routines with her dance squad.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 23 July 2023
A couple holding cocktails by the bar shimmy; two women heading for the restrooms are compelled to dance their way through the crowd.
—Sophia Solano, Washington Post, 1 June 2023
He was greeted in the locker room with a celebration spray and broke out in a handroll and a few shimmies. 2022 Sweet 16 berth After beating No. 2 Auburn in the second round of the 2022 tournament, Miami was headed back to the Sweet 16.
—Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2023
Verb
In the Chinese master filmmaker’s decades-spanning drama Caught by the Tides (Feng Liu Yi Dai), Zhao shimmies around a dance floor to pulsing EDM, unaware that the man in her life will soon leave town, dropping her into a 20-year romantic limbo.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 May 2024
But Take Note The tunnels are a bit narrow, so older or taller children might have a hard time shimmying through.
—Heather Balogh Rochfort, Parents, 18 May 2024
Fleabag creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge is vaulting, shimmying, and exploring her way from Indiana Jones to the realm of Lara Croft as the writer and executive producer of a new live-action Tomb Raider TV series at Amazon Prime Video.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 14 May 2024
Those who shimmied through the crowds on Washington Boulevard into Pickles at just the right time were treated with a free Coors Light courtesy of the new Orioles ownership group, who were introduced during an 11 a.m. news conference.
—Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 28 Mar. 2024
Sanchez had changed out of her glittering Oscar de la Renta gown and into a slightly more mobile strapless white number, fit for shimmying against the matching white leather seats.
—Zachary Weiss, Vogue, 7 May 2024
Last night in Los Angeles, Anya Taylor-Joy shimmied into a corseted gown and strapped on 72 carats of jewelry to celebrate Tiffany & Co. Blue Book’s latest Céleste collection.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 26 Apr. 2024
Just listen to how her wispy vocals insist on love in a way reminiscent of countdown-to-Y2K music by Aaliyah and Janet, her room-to-breathe productions shimmying and sauntering with a palette of pop sounds gone by.
—Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
But now, clusters of them have shimmied up toward the sky like upside-down palms.
—Chloe Sachdev, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shimmy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near shimmy
Cite this Entry
“Shimmy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shimmy. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share