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View synonyms for shimmy

shimmy

[ shim-ee ]

noun

, plural shim·mies.
  1. an American ragtime dance marked by shaking of the hips and shoulders.
  2. excessive wobbling in the front wheels of a motor vehicle.
  3. a chemise.


verb (used without object)

, shim·mied, shim·my·ing.
  1. to dance the shimmy.
  2. to shake, wobble, or vibrate.

shimmy

/ ˈʃɪmɪ /

noun

  1. an American ragtime dance with much shaking of the hips and shoulders
  2. abnormal wobbling motion in a motor vehicle, esp in the front wheels or steering
  3. an informal word for chemise
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to dance the shimmy
  2. to vibrate or wobble
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of shimmy1

First recorded in 1830–40 shimmy fordef 3; 1915–20 shimmy fordef 1; back formation and respelling of chemise, construed as a plural
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Word History and Origins

Origin of shimmy1

C19: changed from chemise , mistakenly assumed to be plural
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Example Sentences

She shimmied on ABC’s musical showcase “Shindig!” in the mid-1960s and danced in nine Presley movies, including “Viva Las Vegas.”

Here, you’ll come across the ruins of the White Point Hot Springs Hotel, where guests once lounged in hot sulfur spring-fed swimming pools and shimmied the Charleston on the veranda.

But a fellow concert-goer who shimmied into the shot has been targeted by a string of negative comments online about her behaviour and appearance after Kelley posted a video of the moment.

From BBC

At hourly intervals, music would start to play and women in their sequins and silks would emerge from behind a curtain to shimmy and shake their way across the room — heaven.

For the swimsuit portion of the Miss Argentina contest, Rodríguez chose a modest one-piece suit with a shawl draped over her shoulders, giving the crowd a shimmy as fans whooped and blew air horns.

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More About Shimmy

What does shimmy mean?

The shimmy is a dance move that involves repeated shaking of the shoulders and hips, as in The dancer entranced the audience with her hypnotizing shimmy.

Shimmy can also mean to perform the specific dance or to shake or wobble in general, as in The puppy shimmied through the tight doggy door.

The noun shimmy may be accompanied by a term that says specifically which part of the body a person is shaking, as in I celebrated my big win with a shoulder shimmy.

The plural of shimmy is shimmies.

Example: The singer shimmied along with the back-up dancers during the guitar solo.

Where does shimmy come from?

The first records of shimmy come from around 1830. It comes from a respelling of chemise, a woman’s undergarment that resembles a loose shirt. In the 1910s, it started to be used to refer to a dance move that was becoming popular.

The shimmy dance emerged at the height of the ragtime era of American music and dance. Back then, excessive shoulder and hip shaking was considered obscene and scandalous and so the shimmy dance was often banned in dance halls. Today, the shimmy is just one of many dance moves that some consider provocative.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to shimmy?

What are some synonyms for shimmy?

What are some words that share a root or word element with shimmy?

What are some words that often get used in discussing shimmy?

How is shimmy used in real life?

Shimmy is most often used to refer to the dance or to wobbly movement.

 

 

Try using shimmy!

Which of the following words is a synonym of shimmy?

A. walk
B. wobble
C. run
D. swim

More About Shimmy

What does shimmy mean?

The shimmy is a dance move that involves repeated shaking of the shoulders and hips, as in The dancer entranced the audience with her hypnotizing shimmy. 

Shimmy can also mean to perform the specific dance or to shake or wobble in general, as in The puppy shimmied through the tight doggy door. 

The noun shimmy may be accompanied by a term that says specifically which part of the body a person is shaking, as in I celebrated my big win with a shoulder shimmy. 

The plural of shimmy is shimmies.

Example: The singer shimmied along with the back-up dancers during the guitar solo.

Where does shimmy come from?

The first records of shimmy come from around 1830. It comes from a respelling of chemise, a woman’s undergarment that resembles a loose shirt. In the 1910s, it started to be used to refer to a dance move that was becoming popular.

The shimmy dance emerged at the height of the ragtime era of American music and dance. Back then, excessive shoulder and hip shaking was considered obscene and scandalous and so the shimmy dance was often banned in dance halls. Today, the shimmy is just one of many dance moves that some consider provocative.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to shimmy?

What are some synonyms for shimmy?

What are some words that share a root or word element with shimmy

What are some words that often get used in discussing shimmy?

How is shimmy used in real life?

Shimmy is most often used to refer to the dance or to wobbly movement.

 

 

Try using shimmy!

Which of the following words is a synonym of shimmy?

A. walk
B. wobble
C. run
D. swim

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shimmeryShimonoseki