nae nae

noun

A hip-hop dance based on planting one's feet, swaying with shoulder movement, and placing one hand in the air and one hand down.

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Meanings

noun
  1. A hip-hop dance based on planting one's feet, swaying with shoulder movement, and placing one hand in the air and one hand down.

    “I told you I did not want a fluff piece!” “Not fluff, fun! There's a difference. Remember when Obama sang Al Green?” “You wanna watch me whip and nae nae, Thembi?”

    2016, Nathan Louis Jackson, “Suckas Need Bodyguards” (25:20 from the start), in Luke Cage, season 1, episode 6, spoken by Miriam Sharpe (Alfre Woodard)

Origin

Named after character Sheneneh Jenkins, a sassy "ghetto girl" in the 1990s sitcom Martin. The Atlanta hip-hop group We Are Toonz is credited for inventing the term with their hit song Drop That NaeNae (2013).

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Cite this entry
APA

nae nae. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nae%20nae

MLA

“nae nae.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nae%20nae. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nae nae,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nae%20nae.

Source: nae nae on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.