noun, plural shim·mies.
- an American ragtime dance marked by shaking of the hips and shoulders.
- excessive wobbling in the front wheels of a motor vehicle.
- a chemise.
verb (used without object), shim·mied, shim·my·ing.
- to dance the shimmy.
- to shake, wobble, or vibrate.
noun plural -mies
- an American ragtime dance with much shaking of the hips and shoulders
- abnormal wobbling motion in a motor vehicle, esp in the front wheels or steering
- an informal word for chemise
verb -mies, -mying or -mied (intr)
- to dance the shimmy
- to vibrate or wobble
v.“do a suggestive dance,” 1918, perhaps via phrase shake the shimmy, which is possibly from shimmy (n.), a U.S. dialectal form of chemise (mistaken as a plural; cf. shammy) first recorded 1837. Or perhaps the verb is related to shimmer (v.) via a notion of glistening light. Transferred sense of “vibration of a motor vehicle” is from 1925. Related: Shimmied; shimmying. As a noun, the name of a popular, fast, suggestive pre-flapper dance, by 1919.