Shimmy means to shake or vibrate with quick, small movements, usually side to side. When a car's steering wheel shimmies, it wobbles rapidly back and forth in your hands. When a washing machine shimmies during the spin cycle, it vibrates so much it might even shuffle across the floor.

The word often describes a wiggly, shaking dance move where dancers shake their shoulders or hips rapidly. Picture someone dancing at a party, shoulders bouncing up and down in fast little movements. That's a shimmy. In the 1920s, a dance called the shimmy became wildly popular, featuring exactly this kind of energetic shaking motion.

You might also shimmy up something or shimmy through something, which means to squeeze or wiggle your way carefully. A kid might shimmy up a tree trunk by wrapping their arms and legs around it and inching upward. Someone stuck in a tight space might shimmy through by twisting and wiggling their body. A mechanic might need to shimmy under a car to reach something hard to access.

The word captures that sense of quick, repeated, back-and-forth or up-and-down motion, whether it's playful dancing, annoying rattling, or careful squeezing through tight spots.