shakedown

or shake-down

[ sheyk-doun ]

/ ˈʃeɪkˌdaʊn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shakedown ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.

a thorough search: a shakedown of prison cells to uncover hidden drugs.

a bed, as of straw or blankets, spread on the floor.

any makeshift bed.

the act or process of shaking down.

Also called shakedown cruise, shakedown flight. a cruise or flight intended to prepare a new vessel or aircraft for regular service by accustoming the crew to its features and peculiarities, breaking in and adjusting machinery, etc.

Nearby words

shake up, shake with laughter, shake-down, shake-out, shake-up, shakedown, shaken, shaken baby syndrome, shakeout, shaker, shaker heights

Origin of shakedown

First recorded in 1490–1500; noun, adj. use of verb phrase shake down

Definition for shake down (2 of 2)

shake

[ sheyk ]

/ ʃeɪk /

verb (used without object), shook, shak·en, shak·ing.

to move or sway with short, quick, irregular vibratory movements.

to tremble with emotion, cold, etc.

to become dislodged and fall (usually followed by off or down): Sand shakes off easily.

to move something, or its support or container, briskly to and fro or up and down, as in mixing: Shake before using.

to totter; become unsteady.

to clasp another's hand in greeting, agreement, congratulations, etc.: Let's shake and be friends again.

Music. to execute a trill.

verb (used with object), shook, shak·en, shak·ing.

to move (something or its support or container) to and fro or up and down with short, quick, forcible movements: to shake a bottle of milk.

to brandish or flourish: to shake a stick at someone.

to grasp (someone or something) firmly in an attempt to move or rouse by, or as by, vigorous movement to and fro: We shook the tree.

to dislodge or dispense (something) by short, quick, forcible movements of its support or container: We shook nuts from the tree.

to cause to sway, rock, totter, etc.: to shake the very foundations of society.

to agitate or disturb profoundly in feeling: The experience shook him badly.

to cause to doubt or waver; weaken. to shake one's self-esteem.

Music. to trill (a note).

to mix (dice) by rolling in the palm of the hand before they are cast.

to get rid of; elude: They tried to shake their pursuers.

noun

an act or instance of shaking, rocking, swaying, etc.

tremulous motion.

a tremor.

shakes, (used with a singular verb) Informal. a state or spell of trembling, as caused by fear, fever, cold, etc. (usually preceded by the).

a disturbing blow; shock.

Informal. milk shake.

the act or a manner of clasping another's hand in greeting, agreement, etc.: He has a strong shake.

Informal. chance or fate; deal: a fair shake.

a cast of the dice: He threw an eight on his last shake.

something resulting from shaking.

an earthquake.

a fissure in the earth.

an internal crack or fissure in timber.

Music. trill¹(def 9).

an instant: I'll be with you in a shake.

Carpentry. a shingle or clapboard formed by splitting a short log into a number of tapered radial sections with a hatchet.

Horology. (in an escapement) the distance between the nearer corner of one pallet and the nearest tooth of the escape wheel when the other pallet arrests an escape tooth.

Chiefly South Midland U.S. shaker(def 2).

a dance deriving from the twist.

Slang. the dried leaves of the marijuana plant.

Verb Phrases

shake down,

to cause to descend by shaking; bring down.
to cause to settle.
to condition; test: to shake down a ship.
Informal. to extort money from.
Slang. to search (someone), especially to detect concealed weapons.

shake off,

to rid oneself of; reject.
to get away from; leave behind.
Baseball, Softball. (of a pitcher) to indicate rejection of (a sign by the catcher for a certain pitch) by shaking the head or motioning with the glove.

shake up,

to shake in order to mix or loosen.
to upset; jar.
to agitate mentally or physically: The threat of attack has shaken up the entire country.

Origin of shake

before 900; (v.) Middle English s(c)haken, Old English sceacan; cognate with Low German schacken, Old Norse skaka; (noun) derivative of the v.

SYNONYMS FOR shake

1 oscillate, waver. Shake, quiver, tremble, vibrate refer to an agitated movement that, in living things, is often involuntary. To shake is to agitate more or less quickly, abruptly, and often unevenly so as to disturb the poise, stability, or equilibrium of a person or thing: a pole shaking under his weight. To quiver is to exhibit a slight vibratory motion such as that resulting from disturbed or irregular (surface) tension: The surface of the pool quivered in the breeze. To tremble (used more often of a person) is to be agitated by intermittent, involuntary movements of the muscles, much like shivering and caused by fear, cold, weakness, great emotion, etc.: Even stout hearts tremble with dismay. To vibrate is to exhibit a rapid, rhythmical motion: A violin string vibrates when a bow is drawn across it.

2 shudder, shiver.

14 daunt.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shake ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

shak·a·ble, shake·a·ble, adjectivere·shake, verb, re·shook, re·shak·en, re·shak·ing.un·shak·a·ble, adjectiveun·shak·a·ble·ly, adverb

un·shake·a·ble, adjectiveun·shake·a·ble·ly, adverbun·sha·ken, adjectivewell-shak·en, adjective

Can be confusedshake sheik (see synonym study at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for shake down (1 of 2)

shake down

verb (adverb)

to fall or settle or cause to fall or settle by shaking

(tr) US slang to extort money from, esp by blackmail or threats of violence

(tr) US slang to search thoroughly

(tr) informal, mainly US to submit (a vessel, etc) to a shakedown test

(intr) to go to bed, esp to a makeshift bed

(intr) (of a person, animal, etc) to settle down

noun shakedown

US slang a swindle or act of extortion

US slang a thorough search

a makeshift bed, esp of straw, blankets, etc

informal, mainly US

a voyage to test the performance of a ship or aircraft or to familiarize the crew with their duties
(as modifier)a shakedown run

British Dictionary definitions for shake down (2 of 2)

shake

/ (ʃeɪk) /

verb shakes, shaking, shook or shaken (ˈʃeɪkən)

to move or cause to move up and down or back and forth with short quick movements; vibrate

to sway or totter or cause to sway or totter

to clasp or grasp (the hand) of (a person) in greeting, agreement, etche shook John by the hand; he shook John's hand; they shook and were friends

shake hands to clasp hands in greeting, agreement, etc

shake on it informal to shake hands in agreement, reconciliation, etc

to bring or come to a specified condition by or as if by shakinghe shook free and ran

(tr) to wave or brandishhe shook his sword

(tr often foll by up) to rouse, stir, or agitate

(tr) to shock, disturb, or upsethe was shaken by the news of her death

(tr) to undermine or weakenthe crisis shook his faith

to mix (dice) by rattling in a cup or the hand before throwing

(tr) Australian archaic, slang to steal

(tr) US and Canadian informal to escape fromcan you shake that detective?

music to perform a trill on (a note)

(tr) US informal to fare or progress; happen as specifiedhow's it shaking?

shake a leg informal to hurry: usually used in the imperative

shake in one's shoes to tremble with fear or apprehension

shake one's head to indicate disagreement or disapproval by moving the head from side to side

shake the dust from one's feet to depart gladly or with the intention not to return

noun

the act or an instance of shaking

a tremor or vibration

the shakes informal a state of uncontrollable trembling or a condition that causes it, such as a fever

informal a very short period of time; jiffyin half a shake

a shingle or clapboard made from a short log by splitting it radially

a fissure or crack in timber or rock

an instance of shaking dice before casting

music another word for trill 1 (def. 1)

a dance, popular in the 1960s, in which the body is shaken convulsively in time to the beat

an informal name for earthquake

short for milk shake

no great shakes informal of no great merit or value; ordinary

See also shake down, shake off, shake up

Derived Formsshakable or shakeable, adjective

Word Origin for shake

Old English sceacan; related to Old Norse skaka to shake, Old High German untscachōn to be driven

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shake down (1 of 2)

shake

Old English sceacan "move (something) quickly to and fro, brandish; move the body or a part of it rapidly back and forth;" also "go, glide, hasten, flee, depart" (cf. sceacdom "flight"); of persons or parts of the body, "to tremble" especially from fever, cold, fear" (class VI strong verb; past tense scoc, past participle scacen), from Proto-Germanic *skakanan (cf. Old Norse, Swedish skaka, Danish skage "to shift, turn, veer"). No certain cognates outside Germanic, but some suggest a possible connection to Sanskrit khaj "to agitate, churn, stir about," Old Church Slavonic skoku "a leap, bound," Welsh ysgogi "move."

Of the earth in earthquakes, c.1300. Meaning "seize and shake (someone or something else)" is from early 14c. In reference to mixing ingredients, etc., by shaking a container from late 14c. Meaning "to rid oneself of by abrupt twists" is from c.1200, also in Middle English in reference to evading responsibility, etc. Meaning "weaken, impair" is from late 14c., on notion of "make unstable."

To shake hands dates from 1530s. Shake a (loose) leg "hurry up" first recorded 1904; shake a heel (sometimes foot) was an old way to say "to dance" (1660s); to shake (one's) elbow (1620s) meant "to gamble at dice." Phrase more _____ than you can shake a stick at is attested from 1818, American English. To shake (one's) head as a sign of disapproval is recorded from c.1300.

Word Origin and History for shake down (1 of 2)

shake

late 14c., "charge, onrush," from shake (v.). Meaning "a hard shock" is from 1560s. From 1580s as "act of shaking;" 1660s as "irregular vibration." The hand-grip salutation so called by 1712. As a figure of instantaneous action, it is recorded from 1816. Phrase fair shake "honest deal" is attested from 1830, American English. The shakes "nervous agitation" is from 1620s. Short for milk shake from 1911. Dismissive phrase no great shakes (1816, Byron) perhaps is from dicing.

Idioms and Phrases with shake down (1 of 2)

shake down

Extort money from, as in They had quite a racket, shaking down merchants for so-called protection. [Slang; second half of 1800s]

Make a thorough search of, as in They shook down all the passengers, looking for drugs. [Slang early 1900s]

Subject a new vehicle or machine to a tryout, as in We'll shake down the new model next week.

Become acclimated or accustomed, to a new place, job, or the like, as in Is this your first job? You'll soon shake down. [Mid-1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with shake down (2 of 2)

shake

In addition to the idioms beginning with shake

shake a leg
shake a stick at
shake down
shake hands
shake in one's boots
shake off
shake one's head
shake someone's tree
shake the dust from one's feet
shake up
shake with laughter

also see:

all shook (shaken) up
fair shake
in two shakes
more than one can shake a stick at
movers and shakers
no great shakes
quake (shake) in one's boots

shakedown

or shake-down

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of shakedown

Definition for shake down (2 of 2)

shake

verb (used without object), shook, shak·en, shak·ing.

verb (used with object), shook, shak·en, shak·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of shake

British Dictionary definitions for shake down (1 of 2)

shake down

verb (adverb)

noun shakedown

British Dictionary definitions for shake down (2 of 2)

shake

verb shakes, shaking, shook or shaken (ˈʃeɪkən)

noun

Word Origin for shake

Word Origin and History for shake down (1 of 2)

shake

Word Origin and History for shake down (1 of 2)

shake

Idioms and Phrases with shake down (1 of 2)

shake down

Idioms and Phrases with shake down (2 of 2)

shake