Verb
Their horses refused to budge.
The door was stuck, and we couldn't even get it to budge.
Could you try opening this jar for me? I can't budge the lid.
We tried to change her mind, but we couldn't budge her.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Lovers of winged liners and tear-jerking movies alike will appreciate the budge-free hold of Stila's All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner.—Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 10 Mar. 2022 But the 5-foot-11-inch, 214-pound blue liner rarely budges.—Conor Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Feb. 2023 The full-coverage lipsticks deliver a high pigment payoff on every skin tone and won’t smudge — especially not on microphones — while eyebrow pencils boast a sweat- and budge-proof formula and a unique chisel tip that makes for effortless filling and shaping.—Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2022 Too much makes an object budge, bend or break.—Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, 21 June 2019 This no-budge mascara is perfect for weddings, hot summer days and everything in between.—Sabina Wizemann, Good Housekeeping, 23 Jan. 2023 This set comes with a smudge- and budge-proof liner and, the pièce de résistance, a dual-sided eyeliner stamp to help perfect your left and right wing.—Anamaria Glavan, Allure, 11 Dec. 2022 This two-pack of Colourpop's gel-paste glitter pots is practically made for makeup experimentation — yes, technically they're made for your eyes, but their no-budge formulas can be used practically anywhere on your face and body.—Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 6 Nov. 2022
Verb
Even with the recent divot in our national vaccine rates, the country remains in broad agreement on the value of immunity: 93 percent of America’s kindergartners are getting measles shots, a rate that has barely budged for decades.—Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2024 Unforgiving, stubborn, and extremely vulnerable, the families marched once a month through central Mexico City, putting themselves in front of television cameras, shouting, gathering at the entrance to government buildings, and refusing to budge, demanding the return of their sons.—Alma Guillermoprieto, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 In 2023, white people held 76.7 percent of executive positions, a percentage that has barely budged since 2019, when 78 percent of executives were white.—Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Republicans who control the Legislature's powerful finance committee refused to budge, raising the possibility that the money will go unspent indefinitely as municipalities across the state struggle with PFAS contamination in their groundwater.—Todd Richmond, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2024 Excluding the more volatile categories of food and energy, the core CPI index rose 0.4% from December, and the annual rate didn’t budge from the 3.9% increase reported a month before.—Alicia Wallace, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024 Regardless, Johnson has shown no interest in budging on the deal.—USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2024 But with surveys showing broad public support for beefing up the ranks of physicians, the government did not budge.—Jin Yu Young, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024 The Velcro closure around the bustline doesn’t budge through a host of activities, including brushing my teeth, applying skincare products, and flat ironing my hair.—Jamie Allison Sanders, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Why budge if, as many analysts argue, Syria is the central front in a larger war between Sunnis and Shiites?—Lionel Beehner, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2015 Forgoing a drying formula, like a matte lipstick or budge proof stain, and swiping on this luxe lip mask instead for a red carpet event is simply genius.—Jennifer Chan, Peoplemag, 8 Oct. 2023 The research suggests that emotional strategies don’t work to budge belief. Don’t get sucked into factual arguments.—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 5 Apr. 2023 For the ultimate no-budge grip, Allure commerce writer Jennifer Hussein relies on the Hugger Mugger Earth Elements Yoga Mat.—Jennifer Hussein, Allure, 3 Apr. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'budge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English bugee, from Anglo-French buge
Verb
Anglo-French bouger, from Vulgar Latin *bullicare, from Latin bullire to boil — more at boil
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