shook
1 Americannoun
-
a set of staves and headings sufficient for one hogshead, barrel, or the like.
-
a set of the parts of a box, piece of furniture, or the like, ready to be put together.
-
a shock of sheaves or the like.
noun
-
(in timber working) a set of parts ready for assembly, esp of a barrel
-
a group of sheaves piled together on end; shock
verb
adjective
Usage
What else does shook mean? Shook is the past tense form of shake, used as a slang term to describe feelings ranging from discombobulation and fear to rage and elation, kind of like "all shaken up."
Etymology
Origin of shook1
First recorded in 1890–95, for the adjective
Origin of shook2
First recorded in 1760–70; short for shook cask, variant of shaken cask, one dismounted for shipment
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.
"The house shook all together as if it was literally an earthquake."
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
You live in a diesel snow globe, and somebody just shook it.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
All the reshuffling is enough to leave an onlooker shook — or, in the case of the New Orleans Saints, Shough.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The U.S. added 162,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department reported Friday, a much-stronger-than-expected result that suggested the labor market shook off its early-summer doldrums.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
A roar shook the cave, beating him to his knees.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
