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twerk

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twerk¹

  • /twɜɹk/ US
  • [tʰw̥ɝk] US
  • /twɜːk/ UK
  • [tw̥ɜːk] UK

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

Blend of twitch + jerk. The "sexually-provocative dance" sense was particularly popularized since c. 2000 by hip-hop from the United States of America, and again in 2013 by singer Miley Cyrus.

noun twerks

  1. Synonym of twerking (“a sexually-provocative dance, involving the performer thrusting their hips back from a low squatting stance while shaking their buttocks”). It was the twerk that bounced around the world in less than a day. Sound bites from reporters said, “Miley Cyrus’s JAW-DROPPING TWERK-a-thon,” the “twerk-tacular,” “twerk-and-tongue work,” in the “twerk seen ’round the world!”

    Similar: twerking

  2. dated A fitful movement similar to a twitch or jerk. "Not so the Freycineti, who looked me over critically, elevated his head crest, and giving his tail an odd little twerk, proceeded to hop deliberately up the limb like a sap-sucker..."

verb twerks · twerking · twerked

  1. To dance in a sexually-provocative way using hip thrusts in a low squatting stance while shaking the buttocks; to take part in twerking. Gaea then stood up over me and turned so that her butt was facing me. She then had the nerve to start twerking.
  2. dated To twitch or jerk. […] in the language of the unsophisticated Port Melbourne suburbanite a bed was still something primarily intended for love-making – all the eyebrow-raising and moustache-twerking in Jo'burg couldn't alter that.

twerk²

  • /twɜɹk/ US
  • [tʰw̥ɝk] US
  • /twɜːk/ UK
  • [tw̥ɜːk] UK

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

Blend of twerp + jerk, found primarily in the 1930s-era works of Walter Dumaux Edmonds.

noun twerks

  1. US, dated, slang A puny or insignificant person, generally male; a twerp. "'...but when they load a pack onto you, what'll you do? A little twerk like you?'"

twerk³

  • /twɜɹk/ US
  • [tʰw̥ɝk] US
  • /twɜːk/ UK
  • [tw̥ɜːk] UK

Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)k

Where it comes from

Onomatopoeic, possibly coined by Roger Tory Peterson.

noun twerks

  1. An abrupt call, such as that made by the California quail. Note of male on territory, a loud kurr or twerk.

Translations

Every language

verb to take part in twerking (the sexually-provocative dance)

Españolperrear, sandunguear, twerkear
中文電臀 /电臀 diàntún, 跳電臀舞 /跳电臀舞 tiào diàntúnwǔ
Portuguêsrebolar
Deutschtwerken, lasziv bewegen
Italianotwerkare
Русскийтве́ркать tvérkatʹ, тве́ркнуть tvérknutʹ, твёркать tvjórkatʹ, твёркнуть tvjórknutʹ
עבריתעִנְטֵז 'intéz

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MLA

"twerk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/twerk. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

twerk. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/twerk

Chicago

"twerk." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/twerk.

BibTeX
@misc{twerk_2026,
  title = {twerk},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/twerk},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}