🤸 Abrupt movement 🕺 A street dance

jerking

1 8.6

A street dance with sharp, separate arm and foot movements

noun
/ˈdʒɜrkɪŋ/

Informal

: jerking

And then here you come all the all the all the jerks in the so do y'all still do that dance?

Examples

The usual jerking of the beginner has been conspicuous by its absence.

Academic text (1995)
Leila turns and gives him a "jerking-off" sign with her hand.

Fiction book (1998)
I gave in to the music, jerking and shinga-linging, and doing the four corners until I thought I'd drop.

Fiction book (1994)
He rolled his eyes at Neuwirth and made a jerking-off motion with his left hand.

Fiction book (1996)
As he neared his date, he commenced an elaborate arm-stretching, wrist-bending, and elbow-jerking action, which ended in a studied glance at his watch.

Fiction book (1990)
His jerking movements on the dance floor attracted everyone's attention.
She loves the jerking style because it allows for expressive body movements.
At the party, we all joined in jerking, following the rhythm of the music.

Compounds

jerking off

Offensive

19 9.9

To touch your own penis to get sexual pleasure

Surface Forms

jerking singular

jerkings plural

Morphology

jerking = jerk (semi-transparent) = jerk + ing

Formed from 'jerk' + -ing, but the sense as a named dance style is a specialized, cultural extension of the basic meaning.

Etymology

Jerking used for the dance comes from the verb jerk, meaning 'to move suddenly'. Because the dance uses sharp, isolated moves, calling it jerking helps you remember it is full of quick, sudden moves.