jitterbug

UK: /ˈdʒɪtəˌbʌɡ/ US: /ˈdʒɪtɚˌbʌg/ ,( jit′ər bug′)

Inflections of 'jitterbug' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

jitterbugs

v 3rd person singular

jitterbugging

v pres p

jitterbugged

v past

jitterbugged

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

jit•ter•bug /ˈdʒɪtɚˌbʌg/   n., v., -bugged, -bug•ging. 
n. [countable]

1. Music and Dance a fast-paced dance of twirls, splits, and somersaults, performed to swing music.

v. [no object]

2. Music and Dance to dance the jitterbug.

jit•ter•bug•ger, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

jit•ter•bug  ( jit′ər bug′), n., v., -bugged, -bug•ging. 
n. 

1. Music and Dance a strenuously acrobatic dance consisting of a few standardized steps augmented by twirls, splits, somersaults, etc., popular esp. in the early 1940s and performed chiefly to boogie-woogie and swing.
2. Music and Dance a person who dances the jitterbug.

v.i. 

3. Music and Dance to dance the jitterbug.

• jitter + bug¹ 1930–35, American.

jit′ter•bug′ger, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

jitterbug / ˈdʒɪtəˌbʌɡ/ noun

1. a fast jerky American dance, usually to a jazz accompaniment, that was popular in the 1940s
2. a person who dances the jitterbug

verb ( -bugs, -bugging, -bugged)

1. (intransitive) to perform such a dance