How to Use shimmy in a Sentence

shimmy

1 of 2 noun
  • Our cause célèbre makes for shimmies and shakes the world over.
    al, 5 Feb. 2020
  • Then jerk the lure with a sweep of the rod tip, or use a pop-pop-popping motion to put the shimmy and shake in a jerk bait.
    Flip Putthoff, Arkansas Online, 22 Feb. 2022
  • At the top of the box, the captain cut one way, ducked the other and then tugged the ball back to shimmy free of his defender.
    Julia Poe, Pro Soccer USA, 5 Aug. 2019
  • Meryl Streep gave Pharrell and his hat her best shimmy.
    Marie Claire, 2 Mar. 2014
  • After stretching, the ladies try out some chest shimmies and neck rolls.
    Mariah Smith, The Cut, 18 Dec. 2017
  • All the Bryan show staples were back: the hip wiggles, the butt shimmies, the purring, the Miller Lite toasting and tossing, the shots of Patron.
    Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 29 June 2017
  • With the Targa’s roof panel stowed, rough roads send a minor shimmy through the body.
    Steve Siler, Car and Driver, 16 Feb. 2018
  • After the transfer, the male did a shimmy that Matsushige had only seen in the video of the wild sea dragons.
    Madeline Bodin, Discover Magazine, 23 Nov. 2020
  • His shimmy with the puck on breakouts or at the blue line have become Heiskanen canon.
    Dallas News, 5 May 2022
  • Any slight shimmy may have the whole thing toppling down at any moment!
    Sable Yong, Allure, 14 July 2017
  • At an obstacle course, plebes flip and shimmy over logs and poles.
    Sarah Larimer, Washington Post, 16 May 2017
  • Sight is as important in this case as sound and Stephanaya has got the strut and the shimmy down perfectly.
    Mel Shields, sacbee, 27 Apr. 2018
  • There was no shimmy on his way to the sidelines after the Boston timeout.
    Chris Fedor, cleveland.com, 22 May 2017
  • The point guard reacted with a shimmy as Curry ran by him.
    Jenna West, SI.com, 24 May 2018
  • Sorry, Samir, but unfortunately for all of us the next shimmy might have to wait for the Big Dance.
    Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 12 Feb. 2020
  • And sure enough, within seconds, Olivia somehow hoists herself herself over the crib and shimmies down to the ground.
    Aurelie Corinthios, PEOPLE.com, 10 July 2018
  • The 30-year-old then followed up the shot with a shimmy celebration, much to his head coach's amusement.
    Nihal Kolur, SI.com, 21 May 2018
  • If one of those bad things does happen and it can’t be fixed, even with the perfect shimmy, years of work could be undone in an instant.
    Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 25 Dec. 2021
  • One shimmy of a sudden line suddenly strikes through it all.
    Vona Groarke, The New York Review of Books, 8 Oct. 2020
  • The superfan and his musical favorite got to hold hands and shimmy on stage.
    Nick Romano, EW.com, 4 Mar. 2022
  • Meanwhile, people of all ages came out to watch legend Tanya Tucker shimmy on stage.
    Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 29 Apr. 2018
  • So now Hayes is opting for eager to please, with arm sways and shimmies, loads of high-fives for fans up front and direct eye contact with folks in the balcony.
    Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 23 Feb. 2018
  • Kemba Walker did a little shimmy, and then sank the free throw that would send him into the Charlotte Hornets record book.
    Brendan Marks, charlotteobserver, 1 Nov. 2017
  • During the first week of the season, Cabrera would get to second base after a double, pound his chest and do a little shimmy.
    Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, 7 Apr. 2018
  • After Niko shimmies into a red dress, Gvatua needs to strap him into the studded bra.
    Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 21 Nov. 2018
  • Clearly, our human brains also have evolved to sway, shimmy and shake our bodies along to music.
    Susan Pinker, WSJ, 25 Jan. 2020
  • There was also a delightful pair of short boots on which the heel was covered with free-hanging chain mail that appeared to shimmy and dance with each step.
    Adam Tschorn, latimes.com, 2 Mar. 2018
  • Cueto’s final pitch of the seventh inning, a triple shimmy if there ever was one, might have made fans dizzy, not to mention C.J. Cron.
    John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle, 9 Apr. 2021
  • Carmelo Anthony isolates on Derrick Rose, ready to do the bump-and-shimmy that is his career-long groove.
    Michael Powell, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2016
  • Despite the heat, Sloan dons a Spider-Man costume and shimmies and shakes his head to music, garnering honks and waves from drivers.
    Molly Sullivan, sacbee, 13 July 2017
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shimmy

2 of 2 verb
  • One of the car's wheels was shimmying.
  • They were shimmying on the dance floor.
  • I shimmied into my jacket.
  • On the field, Wally waved the Red Sox flag and shimmied his hips.
    Dugan Arnett, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Aug. 2019
  • This way, the climber can shimmy up the rope without touching the rock face.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Nov. 2022
  • Tucker stretched his arms wide around the trunk and shimmied around it.
    Ted Gregory, chicagotribune.com, 27 Apr. 2018
  • The doors were chained to their frames and could not be opened more than a foot; detainees had to shimmy through.
    David Remnic, The New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2021
  • This is just the sort of science story that shimmies to the top of newsfeeds.
    Daniel Engber, Slate Magazine, 14 Feb. 2017
  • In a nearby liquor store, bottles shimmied off their shelves and smashed to the floor.
    David L. Stern, Washington Post, 2 Jan. 2024
  • This song is perfect for members of the single squad to shimmy to on the dance floor.
    Noelle Devoe, Seventeen, 15 Nov. 2022
  • On Maduro’s outdoor set, people rose, shimmied and clapped to the beat.
    Patricia Mazzei, miamiherald, 24 July 2017
  • So go ahead, shimmy the ice off your shoulders, and ease into one of these hot springs.
    Outside Online, 12 Feb. 2014
  • The state got lucky when Irma’s path shimmied west, and the hurricane lacked a back half.
    Time, 13 Sep. 2017
  • A few yards later, Rashaan Gaulden took a shot and got turned around as Toney shimmied his way for a 19-yard gain.
    Ryan Young, ajc, 19 Sep. 2017
  • And of course there was this moment, when Turner went wild on the bench as Lance Stephenson shimmied on the court.
    Dakota Crawford, Indianapolis Star, 16 Jan. 2018
  • Mowry could be seen bopping her head back and forth, shimmying her hips and even adding a few snaps.
    Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 20 Jan. 2024
  • To help her dress, Colt moves her back onto the bed and rolls her side to side, shimmying her pant legs on a bit at a time.
    Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2019
  • People shimmied up next to show sheep, grinned on the midway or propped toddlers up on bales of hay.
    Alyson Ward, Houston Chronicle, 5 Mar. 2018
  • As Kate shimmied down a runway in a see-through tube dress by Charlotte Todd, the young prince was taken.
    Elise Taylor, Vogue, 14 Dec. 2023
  • The first was able to shimmy out from under the tank, but Clement was severely injured.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Aug. 2019
  • As in just one second, a player can shimmy the ball onto his left foot and curl it into the top corner of the net.
    SI.com, 9 Oct. 2019
  • Proctor shimmied under a fence and hid behind a tour bus in the parking lot.
    Greg Toppo, USA TODAY, 4 Oct. 2017
  • Some of the 150 guests fled the gunbattle and fire sparked by the assault by shimmying down bedsheets from the upper floors.
    Bloomberg.com, 21 Jan. 2018
  • His father tossed the two boys to his friend on the ground and then shimmied down the rope himself, badly injuring his hands and arm.
    Michael Hamad, courant.com, 27 June 2019
  • The Jimmy tool from our friends at iFixit has a thin strip of steel on the tip that can be used to wedge, pry, or shimmy open just about anything.
    Michael Calore, Wired, 18 Nov. 2021
  • Overpass is a climbing challenge in which people have to climb up and over a beam, or shimmy across it.
    Charles Infosino, Cincinnati.com, 12 June 2020
  • Some 150 guests fled the gun battle and fire sparked by the assault by shimmying down bedsheets from the upper floors.
    Doug MacCash, NOLA.com, 27 Jan. 2018
  • But the group would have to shimmy down a very steep path with poor visibility to reach the river, then take a boat to get there.
    Kate Springer, CNN, 21 Oct. 2021
  • The Uber car was squeezed into the narrow Boston street between other cars, and Wilcox had to shimmy out.
    Joe Mullin, Ars Technica, 8 Aug. 2017
  • In the clip, Theron and her daughters can be seen shimmying in unison and eventually doing the Sprinkler with big smiles on their faces.
    Lauren Huff, EW.com, 9 Aug. 2023

Some of 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.

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