to shake or agitate in order to mix
to reorganize drastically
to stir or rouse
to restore the shape of (a pillow, cushion, etc)
informal to disturb or shock mentally or physically
Agitate in order to mix or loosen, as in This cough medicine needs to be thoroughly shaken up , or Please shake up these pillows .
Upset greatly, as in Even though no one was hurt, he was greatly shaken up by the accident . This usage alludes to being agitated like a liquid being shaken. Also see all shook up . [Late 1800s]
Subject to drastic rearrangement or reorganization, as in New management was bent on shaking up each division .
First recorded in 1900–05; noun use of verb phrase shake up
A shake-up is a major change or upheaval. If there's a shake-up on your soccer team, you might suddenly find yourself playing midfield instead of your usual position defending the goal. Whenever there's reorganization at a company, especially if lots of people lose their jobs, it's described as a shake-up. You can use this word for any similarly drastic change, like a shake-up in your morning routine after your family gets a new puppy that needs to be walked for an hour, or a shake-up in government after a major election.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Douthat is the first full-time correspondent named to the venerable CBS News magazine program since it underwent a massive shake-up last spring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
He is eager for a big shake-up at CNN, which is currently controlled by Warner Bros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
“We came up short,” Celtics president Brad Stevens said at the time, pointing to a potential shake-up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
This executive shake-up coincides with a massive rally on Wall Street.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
On Monday there was a fine shake-up, for the Miter Hill game, if it had not held any thrills, had at least shown up many faults, individual and otherwise.
From Left End Edwards by Relyea, C. M. (Charles Mark)
On Orcel’s side were pan-European regulators—and, crucially, hedge funds and other investors willing to back his vision to shake up Germany’s sclerotic banking scene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Micron’s new supply deals and the evolution of HBM could shake up and change the traditional memory cycle, Bryson said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 3, 2026
The forces behind these projects, like DC Studios’ co-chairman and co-CEO James Gunn, might talk about how they hope to shake up the stale genre with bold decisions.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
Just two years ago, Monarch Tractor was worth half a billion dollars and ready to shake up the wine industry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
Fuller was prepared to shake up the city, to overthrow the status quo—but the Urban League took a more methodical, “go slow” approach.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
