shake down

verb

1. to fall or settle or cause to fall or settle by shaking

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

3. slang,  (tr) to search thoroughly

4. informal,  (tr) to submit (a vessel, etc) to a shakedown test

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

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

noun

1. slang,  a swindle or act of extortion

2. slang,  a thorough search

3. a makeshift bed, esp of straw, blankets, etc

4. informal

   1. a voyage to test the performance of a ship or aircraft or to familiarize the crew with their duties

   2. ( as modifier )

      a shakedown run

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

He added in response to the Sun's report: "His lawyers claimed that it was a shake down of him, a criminal conspiracy. I foolishly relied on their word which I regret to this day."

From BBC

No-one in government can be sure how that is going to shake down, although I was very definitively told we will not be seeing Sir Keir swinging a club with his transatlantic pal.

From BBC

He wants to “be more known,” to “explain myself,” to “answer some questions … who I really am, and what’s my story, and how did it all, like, shake down” and “to set the record straight on a couple of things, and that’s pretty much it.”

From Los Angeles Times

Note that he used the words "do us a favor," the same words he used to shake down Volodymyr Zelensky in the "perfect phone call" that got him impeached the first time.

From Salon

Last week, the Trump administration tried to shake down a third white-shoe law firm for having employed or represented people who investigated Trump.

From Slate

Related Words

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• examine 
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• inspect 
• investigate 
• look 
• probe 
• ransack 
• scan 
• scour 
• scout 
• scrutinize 
• seek 
• sift