mover and shaker

Idioms  

1. A person who wields power and influence in a particular activity or field, as in He's one of the movers and shakers in the art world. At first the two nouns referred specifically to God, alluding to the belief that a divine force was responsible for all events. The current usage refers only to human beings. [Second half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mover and shaker

"So he was a real mover and shaker of the movement".

From BBC ● May 17, 2026

Jerry Jones, the NFL’s premier mover and shaker, sprinkled table salt onto the rim of his beer can in his makeshift office at Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2026

China’s tech world is watching closely what will happen to Mr. Bao, who knows or has worked with nearly every mover and shaker in the industry.

From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2023

She sold her company in 1995, just months before she died at the age of 74; in the words of her sister, “a mover and shaker all of her life.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 5, 2022

All eyes are on an agent: a protagonist, a mover and shaker, a driving force.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker