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

Every artist is expected to either shake off or renovate convention.

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“We seek a new revolution,” he said, “not less important, perhaps, in its consequences than that of 1776—a revolution in letters; a shaking off of the fetters of the mind.”

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The sector has worked hard to shake off the ups and downs of the pandemic and get rid of less promising drugs, companies and therapeutic targets.

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I hustle after Woo, trying to shake off the aching waves of pain coursing through my face.

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The Pacers never looked like shaking off their early season torpor on Monday despite facing a Detroit team missing both Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris.

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