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• shake-up
  shake-up

  noun

  a thorough change in a business, department, or the like, as by dismissals, demotions, etc.
• shake up
  shake up

  verb

  to shake or agitate in order to mix

shake-up

American  

[sheyk-uhp] / ˈʃeɪkˌʌp /

noun

1. a thorough change in a business, department, or the like, as by dismissals, demotions, etc.

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shake up British  

verb

1. to shake or agitate in order to mix

2. to reorganize drastically

3. to stir or rouse

4. to restore the shape of (a pillow, cushion, etc)

5. informal to disturb or shock mentally or physically

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noun

1. informal a radical or drastic reorganization

shake up Idioms  

1. Agitate in order to mix or loosen, as in This cough medicine needs to be thoroughly shaken up , or Please shake up these pillows .

2. Upset greatly, as in Even though no one was hurt, he was greatly shaken up by the accident . This usage alludes to being agitated like a liquid being shaken. Also see all shook up . [Late 1800s]

3. Subject to drastic rearrangement or reorganization, as in New management was bent on shaking up each division .

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Etymology

Origin of shake-up

First recorded in 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase shake up

Explanation

A shake-up is a major change or upheaval. If there's a shake-up on your soccer team, you might suddenly find yourself playing midfield instead of your usual position defending the goal. Whenever there's reorganization at a company, especially if lots of people lose their jobs, it's described as a shake-up. You can use this word for any similarly drastic change, like a shake-up in your morning routine after your family gets a new puppy that needs to be walked for an hour, or a shake-up in government after a major election.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shake-up shake up

"There's a significant shake-up happening here in game design terms," freelance game critic Emma Kent told me.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Plans for a major shake-up of local government are on hold, after the government launched a review in light of new legal advice.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Hedges previously hosted the Live Lounge with fellow presenters Rickie Haywood-Williams and Melvin Odoom, who have since left the station as part of a major schedule shake-up.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Then two years later, the family suffered a major shake-up: On Jan. 15, Allan, a 78-year-old American billionaire, died alone in Russia’s Saint Petersburg’s City Hospital No. 40, Intensive Care Unit No. 3.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

You know the kind—one of these deadwood specimens that stand a show of gettin' the prunin' hook every time there's a shake-up.

From Torchy by George Brehm

After victory in the series opener in Johannesburg last month, the All Blacks jumped to the top of the world rankings and threatened to shake up rugby's world order.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

The appointment may be seen as too cautious, as Manifold’s hiring as an outsider was to shake up the oil major.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Roberts wasn’t ready to shake up bullpen roles based on what he saw.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

Micron’s new supply deals and the evolution of HBM could shake up and change the traditional memory cycle, Bryson said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 3, 2026

He wasn’t ready to shake up the world.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

Related Words

• disturb
• reorganize
• shock