movers and shakers
Britishplural noun
Etymology
Origin of movers and shakers
C20: perhaps from the line ``We are the movers and shakers of the world for ever'' in `Ode' by Arthur O'Shaughnessy (1844–81), British poet
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.
It’s all part of an effort, observers say, for the companies to properly position themselves with the movers and shakers in town.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 24, 2026
With a population of about 9.5 million and an underperforming economy, Hungary isn’t one of the earth’s movers and shakers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
It took firefighters about an hour to extinguish the blaze at the century-old restaurant building, which attracted movers and shakers for much of its history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2025
For just one week everyone is Irish and those who form part of the travelling circus have their stamina rewarded with enviable access to the movers and shakers within the US political elite.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2025
Mom became even more concerned about my values when my editor offered me a job writing a weekly column about what he called the behind-the-scenes doings of the movers and shakers.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
