shock

¹ American  

[shok] / ʃɒk /

noun

1. a sudden and violent blow or impact; collision.

2. a sudden or violent disturbance or commotion.

   the shock of battle.

3. a sudden or violent disturbance of the mind, emotions, or sensibilities.

   The burglary was a shock to her sense of security. The book provided a shock, nothing more.

4. the cause of such a disturbance.

   The rebuke came as a shock.

5. Pathology. a collapse of circulatory function, caused by severe injury, blood loss, or disease, and characterized by pallor, sweating, weak pulse, and very low blood pressure.

6. the physiological effect produced by the passage of an electric current through the body.

7. Informal. shocks, shock absorbers, especially in the suspension of an automobile.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to strike or jar with intense surprise, horror, disgust, etc..

   He enjoyed shocking people.

   Synonyms:

   stupefy, astound, stagger

2. to strike against violently.

3. to give an electric shock to.

verb (used without object)

1. to undergo a shock.

shock ² American  

[shok] / ʃɒk /

noun

1. a group of sheaves of grain placed on end and supporting one another in the field.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to make into shocks.

shock ³ American  

[shok] / ʃɒk /

noun

1. a thick, bushy mass, as of hair.

2. Also shock dog a dog with long, shaggy hair.

---

adjective

1. shaggy, as hair.

shock ¹ British  

/ ʃɒk /

noun

1. a number of sheaves set on end in a field to dry

2. a pile or stack of unthreshed corn

---

verb

1. (tr) to set up (sheaves) in shocks

shock ² British  

/ ʃɒk /

noun

1. a thick bushy mass, esp of hair

---

adjective

1. rare bushy; shaggy

shock ³ British  

/ ʃɒk /

verb

1. to experience or cause to experience extreme horror, disgust, surprise, etc

   the atrocities shocked us

   she shocks easily

2. to cause a state of shock in (a person)

3. to come or cause to come into violent contact; jar

---

noun

1. a sudden and violent jarring blow or impact

2. something that causes a sudden and violent disturbance in the emotions

   the shock of her father's death made her ill

3. pathol a state of bodily collapse or near collapse caused by circulatory failure or sudden lowering of the blood pressure, as from severe bleeding, burns, fright, etc

4. pathol pain and muscular spasm as the physical reaction to an electric current passing through the body

shock Scientific  

/ shŏk /

1. An instance of the passage of an electric current through the body. The amount of injury caused by electric shock depends on the type and strength of the current, the length of time the current is applied, and the route the current takes once it enters the body.

2. A life-threatening condition marked by a severe drop in blood pressure, resulting from serious injury or illness.

---

shock Idioms  

1. see culture shock.

---

Usage

What is a basic definition of shock? A shock is a sudden, intense mental or physical impact. Shock is also the effect of having electricity run through the body. To shock someone means to intensely surprise or horrify someone. Shock has several other senses as a noun and a verb. The word shock often refers to a sudden mental disturbance that causes an intense emotion, usually surprise or horror. You might feel a shock when you see a failing grade on a test. The word shock can also refer to whatever causes this sudden surprise. The noun shocker and adjective shocking often refer to this sense of shock.

• Used in a sentence: It took Julie a few minutes to recover from the shock of seeing a dancing circus bear in her living room. 

Shock is used in this same sense as a verb to mean to cause someone to be suddenly overwhelmed by emotion (usually surprise or horror).

• Used in a sentence: I was shocked by my incredibly high phone bill.  

A shock can also be a sudden physical impact. This sense is less common than the emotional one.

• Used in a sentence: The springs absorbed most of the shock from colliding with the wall. 

Shock also refers to the bodily imbalance, discomfort, or damage caused by electricity running through a person’s body. This sense is often specifically referred to as “an electric shock,” especially when discussing injuries or medical emergencies.

• Used in a sentence: The electrician barely survived the electric shock he got while working on the power lines. 

In this same sense, shock is used as a verb to mean to give an electric shock to someone.

• Used in a sentence: The squirrel was shocked by the cord while chewing on it.

Related Words

Shock, startle, paralyze, stun suggest a sudden, sharp surprise that affects one somewhat like a blow. Shock suggests a strong blow, as it were, to one's nerves, sentiments, sense of decency, etc.: The onlookers were shocked by the accident. Startle implies the sharp surprise of sudden fright: to be startled by a loud noise. Paralyze implies such a complete shock as to render one temporarily helpless: paralyzed with fear. Stun implies such a shock as bewilders or stupefies: stunned by the realization of an unpleasant truth.

Other Word Forms

• shockability noun
• shockable adjective
• shockedness noun
• shocker noun
• shocklike adjective
• unshockability noun
• unshockable adjective

Etymology

Origin of shock¹

First recorded in 1565–75; from Middle French choc “armed encounter,” noun derivative of choquer “to clash (in battle),” from Germanic (probably Frankish); compare Dutch schokken “to shake, jolt, jerk”

Origin of shock²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English shok, shocke, shok(k)e; cognate with Middle Low German, Low German scok, schok, all meaning “shock of grain, group of sixty,” German Schock “sixty”

Origin of shock³

First recorded in 1815–20; special use of shock ² (the hair being compared to a shock of wheat)

Explanation

A shock is the uncomfortable feeling you get when an electric current passes through your body. If you stick your finger in an outlet, you'll get an unpleasant shock. A shock can be a jarring surprise, like the shock of getting fired. If a human body goes into a state of shock, that person is near collapse, reeling from a traumatic situation. A shock of hair refers to a bushy mass of hair on a person's head. As a verb, shock can also mean "to inflict trauma on someone else," like shocking your mom with your news or you shock your dog's electric collar every time he tries to bite you.

Example Sentences

"For anybody that came in contact with this individual, it was a shock."

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Tony Rodriguez, head of fixed-income strategy at Nuveen, called this week’s action a “relief rally and a positioning rally,” with positioning around “some dire scenarios” around the Iran war and the oil shock being unwound.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

Softness in the labor market comes against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty for Canadian employers and restrained hiring intentions, as the recent oil-price shock compounds concerns about trade policy and U.S. tariffs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

The shock increases when they learn they have a granddaughter.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

For days the household was numb with the shock of it.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• agitate
• anger
• astound
• awe
• disgust
• dismay
• displease
• disturb
• flabbergast
• horrify
• insult
• jar
• jolt
• offend
• outrage
• overwhelm
• paralyze
• rock
• shake
• shake up