movers and shakers

plural noun

1. informal,  the people with power and influence in a particular field of activity

Word History and Origins

Origin of movers and shakers¹

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

On the other a cohort of former players and established movers and shakers within the game who have become frustrated at a sport's perceived inability to grow, and who promise big financial backing.

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Other movers and shakers in the Martian movement included French astronomer and philosopher Camille Flammarion, who brought missionary zeal to the task of convincing the world of extraterrestrial life; and Giovanni Schiaparelli, the colorblind Italian astronomer who observed “an abundance of narrow streaks” on Mars “that appeared to connect the seas one to another.”

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Reema Maya, a young filmmaker, says her membership of the house in Mumbai - a city "where one is always jostling for space and a quiet corner in a cramped cafe" - has given her rare access to the movers and shakers of Mumbai's film industry - which might otherwise have been impossible for someone like her "without generational privilege".

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The pattern is a sort of repetition compulsion, afflicting Democratic movers and shakers along with the party as an institution.

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Meanwhile, only a tiny fraction of victims were powerful movers and shakers in the narco-economy: an estimated 2% were officials or politicians, and 1% were kingpins.

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