English Explanatory Dictionary

jitterbug

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A nervous or jittery person.
  2. A jazz musician or aficionado.
  3. An uptempo jazz or swing dance which embellishes on the two-step pattern and frequently incorporates acrobatic style swing steps.
  4. Synonym of diddley bow (“type of stringed instrument”).
verb
  1. To dance the jitterbug.

Pronunciation

/ˈd͡ʒɪtə(ɹ)bʌɡ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-jitterbug.wav

Word forms

jitterbug jitterbugs jitterbugging jitterbugged

Etymology

From jitter + bug, after the 1934 Cab Calloway song “Jitter Bug”.

Synonyms

nervous wreck worrywart bundle of nerves jazzbo jazzman jazzperson diddley bow

Derived words

jitterbugger
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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