shakeout

[sheyk-out]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shakeout ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

a rapid decline in the values of certain securities sold in stock exchanges or the like.

Origin of shakeout

First recorded in 1890–95; noun use of verb phrase shake out

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for shakeout

decline, stagnation, collapse, slump, slide, inflation, downturn, bankruptcy, unemployment, deflation, turmoil, disturbance, explosion, disaster, tumult, eruption, temblor, disruption, revolution, cataclysm

Examples from the Web for shakeout

Contemporary Examples of shakeout

The signs of a shakeout are evident beyond the bestseller list.
Celebrity Memoir Glut
Ben Yagoda
November 24, 2009

Word Origin and History for shakeout

also shake-out, "business upheaval," 1895, from verbal phrase; see shake (v.) + out (adv.).