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
And in 2021, of those who were fortunate enough to have a bystander call 911 and have emergency medical services come to their assistance, only around 9 percent survived long enough to be discharged from a hospital — a dismal number that has barely budged in decades.—Helen Ouyang, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024 Nationally, American women earn about 82 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2022, according to a Pew Research Center report, and the pay gap has barely budged in the last two decades.—Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2024 But the inflation outlook will darken if the Israel-Hamas war spreads to other countries in the region, threatening global energy supply, or if oil prices — which have barely budged since the Houthis ramped up their attacks — start to rise.—Anna Cooban, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024 But the county wouldn't budge on its numbers and eventually gave him a deadline in August, Chou said, to either take or leave the one-time, lump-sum payment.—Daniel Bice, Journal Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2024 But Brazil, which accounts for half of South America’s population and territory, has not budged on the issue.—Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024 This was evident in the live eagle camera when Jackie wouldn’t budge from the nest from the afternoon of Feb. 5 until the morning of Feb. 7, the nonprofit said.—Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 7 Feb. 2024 Owner and former Navistar executive Thomas F. Harter Sr. has not budged on his asking price.—Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024 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
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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