shake off

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

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

Its lead independent director, Daniel Schulman, is taking the helm as Verizon tries to shake off concerns it’s falling behind in wireless and broadband.

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The city’s new mayor, Daniel Lurie, a nonprofit leader and philanthropist, has shaken off left-wing taboos and focused on delivering results.

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Nearby, a gorgeous photograph of a single gnarled tree amid green rolling hills becomes quietly apocalyptic, as if the voluptuous earth is preparing to shake off morbid memories.

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In his autobiography, Stamp Album, he recalled how he loved the life, but he could not shake off the feeling he wanted to be an actor.

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Gerald’s daughter, Emmy, 30, is a sheriff’s deputy working the town’s Fourth of July fireworks show while trying to shake off an argument with her ne’er-do-well husband.

Read more on Los Angeles Times