# shim vs shimmy

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### shim
*noun · IPA /ʃɪm/ · frequency rank #40,020*
A wedge.

### shimmy
*noun · IPA /ˈʃɪ.mi/ · frequency rank #44,485*
A dance move involving thrusting the shoulders back and forth alternately.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shim-vs-shimmy