shakeout
Americannoun
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an elimination or winnowing out of some competing businesses, products, etc., as a result of intense competition in a market of declining sales or rising standards of quality.
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a rapid decline in the values of certain securities sold in stock exchanges or the like.
Etymology
Origin of shakeout
First recorded in 1890–95; noun use of verb phrase shake out
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
National-security threats combine with fears of a looming AI financial shakeout.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
Don’t underestimate, though, how much they are tangled up in worries about a coming AI shakeout.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
There are many U.S. startups, and a shakeout is likely coming.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 10, 2026
For workers like Tinner, it has been a rough realization that the Silicon Valley shakeout is stretching into another year.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026
There have been some strong contrarian warnings, and some strategists have been waiting for a shakeout that will remove some of the froth from the market.
From Barron's • Nov. 5, 2025
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
