Shake Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Etymology

Examples

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Synonyms shake American [sheyk] / ʃeɪk /

verb (used without object)

shook, shaken, shaking

1. to move or sway with short, quick, irregular vibratory movements.

   Synonyms: waver, oscillate

2. to tremble with emotion, cold, etc.

   Synonyms: shiver, shudder

3. to become dislodged and fall (usually followed by off ordown ).

   Sand shakes off easily.

4. to move something, or its support or container, briskly to and fro or up and down, as in mixing.

   Shake before using.

5. to totter; become unsteady.

6. to clasp another's hand in greeting, agreement, congratulations, etc..

   Let's shake and be friends again.

7. Music. to execute a trill.

verb (used with object)

shook, shaken, shaking

1. to move (something or its support or container) to and fro or up and down with short, quick, forcible movements.

   to shake a bottle of milk.

2. to brandish or flourish.

   to shake a stick at someone.

3. to grasp (someone or something) firmly in an attempt to move or rouse by, or as by, vigorous movement to and fro.

   We shook the tree.

4. to dislodge or dispense (something) by short, quick, forcible movements of its support or container.

   We shook nuts from the tree.

5. to cause to sway, rock, totter, etc..

   to shake the very foundations of society.

6. to agitate or disturb profoundly in feeling.

   The experience shook him badly.

7. to cause to doubt or waver; weaken.

   to shake one's self-esteem.

   Synonyms: daunt

8. Music. to trill (a note).

9. to mix (dice) by rolling in the palm of the hand before they are cast.

10. to get rid of; elude.

    They tried to shake their pursuers.

noun

1. an act or instance of shaking, rocking, swaying, etc.

2. tremulous motion.

3. a tremor.

4. Informal. (the) shakes. a state or spell of trembling, as caused by fear, fever, cold, etc..

   I was up all night with a fever and the shakes.

5. a disturbing blow; shock.

6. Informal. milkshake.

7. the act or a manner of clasping another's hand in greeting, agreement, etc..

   He has a strong shake.

8. Informal. chance or treatment; deal.

   a fair shake;

   a bum shake.

9. a cast of the dice.

   He threw an eight on his last shake.

10. something resulting from shaking.

11. an earthquake.

12. a fissure in the earth.

13. an internal crack or fissure in timber.

14. Music. trill.

15. an instant.

    I'll be with you in a shake.

16. Carpentry. a shingle or clapboard formed by splitting a short log into a number of tapered radial sections with a hatchet.

17. Horology. (in an escapement) the distance between the nearer corner of one pallet and the nearest tooth of the escape wheel when the other pallet arrests an escape tooth.

18. Chiefly South Midland U.S. shaker.

19. a dance deriving from the twist.

20. Slang. the dried leaves of the marijuana plant.

verb phrase

1. shake down

   1. to cause to descend by shaking; bring down.

   2. to cause to settle.

   3. to condition; test.

      to shake down a ship.

   4. Informal. to extort money from.

   5. Slang. to search (someone), especially to detect concealed weapons.

2. shake up

   1. to shake in order to mix or loosen.

   2. to upset; jar.

   3. to agitate mentally or physically.

      The threat of attack has shaken up the entire country.

3. shake off

   1. to rid oneself of; reject.

   2. to get away from; leave behind.

   3. Baseball, Softball. (of a pitcher) to indicate rejection of (a sign by the catcher for a certain pitch) by shaking the head or motioning with the glove.

idioms

1. shake hands. hand.

2. shake the dust from one's feet. dust.

3. two shakes (of a lamb's tail), a very short time; a moment.

4. shake one's head,

   1. to indicate disapproval, disagreement, negation, or uncertainty by turning one's head from one side to the other and back.

      I asked him if he knew the answer, but he just shook his head.

   2. to indicate approval, agreement, affirmation or acceptance by nodding one's head up and down.

5. no great shakes, of no particular ability; unimportant; common.

   As opera companies go, this one is no great shakes.

6. shake a leg,

   1. to hurry up; get a move on.

      You'd better shake a leg or we'll miss the first act.

   2. to dance.

shake British / ʃeɪk /

verb

1. to move or cause to move up and down or back and forth with short quick movements; vibrate

2. to sway or totter or cause to sway or totter

3. to clasp or grasp (the hand) of (a person) in greeting, agreement, etc

   he shook John by the hand

   he shook John's hand

   they shook and were friends

4. to clasp hands in greeting, agreement, etc

5. informal to shake hands in agreement, reconciliation, etc

6. to bring or come to a specified condition by or as if by shaking

   he shook free and ran

7. (tr) to wave or brandish

   he shook his sword

8. to rouse, stir, or agitate

9. (tr) to shock, disturb, or upset

   he was shaken by the news of her death

10. (tr) to undermine or weaken

    the crisis shook his faith

11. to mix (dice) by rattling in a cup or the hand before throwing

12. archaic (tr) to steal

13. informal (tr) to escape from

    can you shake that detective?

14. music to perform a trill on (a note)

15. informal (tr) to fare or progress; happen as specified

    how's it shaking?

16. informal to hurry: usually used in the imperative

17. to tremble with fear or apprehension

18. to indicate disagreement or disapproval by moving the head from side to side

19. to depart gladly or with the intention not to return

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. the act or an instance of shaking

2. a tremor or vibration

3. informal a state of uncontrollable trembling or a condition that causes it, such as a fever

4. informal a very short period of time; jiffy

   in half a shake

5. a shingle or clapboard made from a short log by splitting it radially

6. a fissure or crack in timber or rock

7. an instance of shaking dice before casting

8. music another word for trill 1

9. a dance, popular in the 1960s, in which the body is shaken convulsively in time to the beat

10. an informal name for earthquake

11. short for milk shake

12. informal of no great merit or value; ordinary

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 shake More Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing shake

• all shook (shaken) up
• fair shake
• in two shakes
• more than one can shake a stick at
• movers and shakers
• no great shakes
• quake (shake) in one's boots

Related Words

Shake, quiver, tremble, vibrate refer to an agitated movement that, in living things, is often involuntary. To shake is to agitate more or less quickly, abruptly, and often unevenly so as to disturb the poise, stability, or equilibrium of a person or thing: a pole shaking under his weight. To quiver is to exhibit a slight vibratory motion such as that resulting from disturbed or irregular (surface) tension: The surface of the pool quivered in the breeze. To tremble (used more often of a person) is to be agitated by intermittent, involuntary movements of the muscles, much like shivering and caused by fear, cold, weakness, great emotion, etc.: Even stout hearts tremble with dismay. To vibrate is to exhibit a rapid, rhythmical motion: A violin string vibrates when a bow is drawn across it.

Other Word Forms

• reshake verb
• shakable adjective
• shakeable adjective
• unshakable adjective
• unshakablely adverb
• unshakeable adjective
• unshakeablely adverb
• unshaken adjective
• well-shaken adjective

Etymology

Origin of shake

First recorded before before 900; Middle English (verb) s(c)haken, Old English sceacan; cognate with Low German schacken, Old Norse skaka; the noun is derived from the verb

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ontario endured a spate of shaking a little more than a year ago, topping out with a magnitude 4 quake on Oct.

From Los Angeles Times

The fragile model was shaken after the pandemic, when streaming platforms bought films at inflated prices.

From Barron's

On Sep. 4, Anderberg went to a local hospital complaining of shaking in his arms and legs and severe insomnia.

From The Wall Street Journal

His rise is shaking up a succession landscape complicated by years of tumult and turnover in GM’s headquarters.

From The Wall Street Journal

But I'm not gonna let it shake me and we will not let it shake this community.

From BBC

Related Words

• disturb
• frighten
• horrify
• intimidate
• rattle
• throw
• undermine
• unnerve
• unsettle
• upset
• weaken
• worry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.