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.
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Noun
So this thing pays you a 60% higher yield than a 10-year Treasury and barely budges when the stock market freaks out.—John Melloy, CNBC, 12 June 2025 This semi-permanent, ultra-matte liquid eyeliner delivers intense color that won’t crack, bleed, or budge—no matter how long your day (or night) runs.—Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 18 May 2025
Verb
Many will not budge off of Jordan being the best player of all-time, but there are also many who will argue tooth and nail that James deserves the title.—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025 Molson Coors Beer maker Molson Coors Beverage Co. (TAP) was on this list a year ago, and its stock price has barely budged since then.—John Dorfman, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
Adjective
Despite the unprecedented capabilities – and uncanny, seemingly humanlike qualities – of generative AI, the limit on how much human work can be fully automated will continue to only very slowly budge.—Eric Siegel, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025 The labor participation rate fell, and the main reason the unemployment rate didn’t budge was because more workers left the labor force.—Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 3 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for budge
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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