- present participle of shake.
shaking
Americannoun
-
shakings
plural
-
the act of a person or thing that shakes.
-
ague, with or without chill and fever.
-
Nautical. shakings, waste rope, canvas, etc.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of shaking
Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at shake, -ing 1
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.
See Examples For:
Investors appeared to be shaking off the latest “tech wreck” on Thursday, as many hard-hit names linked to the artificial-intelligence trade staged a strong rebound intraday.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
“CBS canceled shows led by Melissa McCarthy and Allison Janney,” he said, shaking his head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Unusually for Vance on the campaign trail, he then went down to greet the crowd in person -- shaking hands, patting arms and meeting the lady with the black pro-Vance hat.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
While he said “I can’t walk into a room without hugging and shaking hands and talking to everybody,” Simmons also noted that Elanco isn’t necessarily “a warm and fuzzy place.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Where ten minutes earlier I’d been burning with fever, now I was shaking with cold.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Nothing fell to the floor or broke, but it reminded him of the January shakings and made him worry that a big quake like that occurred even five months later.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 2, 2024
The first shakings came in 1972, when the players went on strike over their pension fund; the season lost 86 games out of a total of more than 160.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 29, 2012
In the 1960s, scientists set up seismometers across the world, allowing them to measure and record the slightest shakings almost anywhere.
From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2011
He shook his head, quick vision-clearing shakings and established himself in the world once more.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
“Poor humble Gurgi is always faithful to mighty lords—what joy to serve them, even with shakings and breakings.”
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
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