- present participle of shake.
shaking
Americannoun
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shakings
plural
-
the act of a person or thing that shakes.
-
ague, with or without chill and fever.
-
Nautical. shakings, waste rope, canvas, etc.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of shaking
Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at shake, -ing 1
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.
See Examples For:
"It was unbelievably frightening. My knees were shaking with fear," says Katya, one of the deportees.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Investors appeared to be shaking off the latest “tech wreck” on Thursday, as many hard-hit names linked to the artificial-intelligence trade staged a strong rebound intraday.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
“CBS canceled shows led by Melissa McCarthy and Allison Janney,” he said, shaking his head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Unusually for Vance on the campaign trail, he then went down to greet the crowd in person -- shaking hands, patting arms and meeting the lady with the black pro-Vance hat.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
He’s shaking his head vehemently before I even finish that sentence.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Nothing fell to the floor or broke, but it reminded him of the January shakings and made him worry that a big quake like that occurred even five months later.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 2, 2024
The first shakings came in 1972, when the players went on strike over their pension fund; the season lost 86 games out of a total of more than 160.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 29, 2012
In the 1960s, scientists set up seismometers across the world, allowing them to measure and record the slightest shakings almost anywhere.
From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2011
Even more unnerving, because they are less well understood and capable of occurring anywhere at any time, are the rarer type of shakings known as intraplate quakes.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
He shook his head, quick vision-clearing shakings and established himself in the world once more.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
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