twerking

noun

twerk·​ing ˈtwər-kiŋ 

: sexually suggestive dancing characterized by rapid, repeated hip thrusts and shaking of the buttocks especially while squatting

… twerking has become a catch-all for an overtly sexualized style of dancing wherein one manipulates the hips and posterior in an often hypnotic and physics-defying bounce.

—Luke O'Neil

twerk

ˈtwərk 

intransitive verb

twerked; twerking; twerks

As my family watched in horror, I began to twerk, crouching down and bouncing my booty …

—Libby Gelman-Waxner

Examples of twerking in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The result of that experiment is Sue (Margaret Qualley), who gets her own show that involves a bunch more twerking and gyrating. —Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2024

But the rapper censored her lyrics, swapped out her shimmering leotard for a sleek blue pantsuit, and reeled in the twerking. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2024

The New York native's latest video has it all — Ice Spice on display in a museum, her twerking while holding a stack of money (and a torch, of course) as the Statue of Liberty, and Scott, 33, apparently rapping his verse from atop the monument itself. —Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 26 July 2024

But there’s not enough cash to save it No twerking. —Hartford Courant, 13 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

twerk, phonesthemic coinage, perhaps with elements of twist entry 1 and jerk entry 1

First Known Use

2001, in the meaning defined above