shake off

British  

verb

1. to remove or be removed with or as if with a quick movement

   she shook off her depression

2. (tr) to escape from; elude

   they shook off the police

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shake off Idioms  

1. Free oneself or get rid of something or someone, as in I've had a hard time shaking off this cold, or She forged ahead, shaking off all the other runners. It is also put as give someone the shake, as in We managed to give our pursuers the shake. The first term dates from the late 1300s; the slangy variant dates from the second half of the 1800s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shake off

U.S. stocks have kept chugging higher this year, but bonds haven’t been able to shake off a five-year slump.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

A24 released the first full trailer for “You Can See Everything” on Wednesday after its tense teaser went viral earlier this month ... and was hard for viewers to shake off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

To shake off the doldrums, invite a sharp colleague to coffee, ask them to trade notes and figure out ways to work together.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Perhaps best of all: The movie has a gritty, charming meanness to it; a stickiness that’s hard to shake off.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

He toured the country, mesmerizing crowds with thundering calls for black people to shake off the undermining ghetto stereotypes and claim their long-denied political power.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama