shimmy

Meanings

Plural: shimmies

Noun

• an abnormal wobble in a motor vehicle (especially in the front wheels)
  • "he could feel the shimmy in the steering wheel"
• a woman's sleeveless undergarment
• lively dancing (usually to ragtime music) with much shaking of the shoulders and hips
• A dance move involving thrusting the shoulders back and forth alternately.
• A dance that was popular in the 1920s.
• An abnormal vibration, especially in the wheels of a vehicle.
• A sleeveless chemise.

Verb

• tremble or shake
• dance a shimmy
• To perform a shimmy (dance movement involving thrusting the shoulders back and forth alternately).
• To climb something (e.g. a pole) gradually (e.g. using alternately one's arms then one's legs).
• To vibrate abnormally, as a broken wheel.
• To shake the body as if dancing the shimmy.
• To move across a narrow ledge, either by hanging from it or by strafing on it along the wall.

Synonyms

chemise, shift, shin, shinny, slip, teddy, wobble