- 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:
A resident in Nagekeo, Yohanes Babo, 56, said he was at a market when the earth started shaking.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Arnold Welianto, who lives in Talibura village, Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara, told the BBC that he was still asleep when he felt the "very strong shaking".
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Oil, hunters and Dr. Phil: How a long-shot project is shaking Up Greenland.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Light shaking, as defined by the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, was felt in Oakland and nearby San Leandro and Alameda, according to the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Luna hesitates for a second before shaking her head.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
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
“Poor humble Gurgi is always faithful to mighty lords—what joy to serve them, even with shakings and breakings.”
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
He shook his head, quick vision-clearing shakings and established himself in the world once more.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
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.
