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Synonyms

shook

1 American  
[shook] / ʃʊk /

verb

  1. simple past tense of shake.

  2. Nonstandard. a past participle of shake.

adjective

  1. Slang. Also shook up strongly affected by an event, circumstance, etc.; emotionally unsettled.

    She was so shook she couldn't speak.
shook 2 American  
[shook] / ʃʊk /

noun

  1. a set of staves and headings sufficient for one hogshead, barrel, or the like.

  2. a set of the parts of a box, piece of furniture, or the like, ready to be put together.

  3. a shock of sheaves or the like.

shook 1 British  
/ ʃʊk /

noun

  1. (in timber working) a set of parts ready for assembly, esp of a barrel

  2. a group of sheaves piled together on end; shock

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
shook 2 British  
/ ʃʊk /

verb

  1. the past tense of shake

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. informal keen on; enthusiastic about

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What else does shook mean? Shook is the past tense form of shake, used as a slang term to describe feelings ranging from discombobulation and fear to rage and elation, kind of like "all shaken up."

Etymology

Origin of shook1

First recorded in 1890–95, for the adjective

Origin of shook2

First recorded in 1760–70; short for shook cask, variant of shaken cask, one dismounted for shipment

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.

Some of the issues in this election have their roots in the profound social changes which shook Scotland as its economy shifted from manufacturing to services in the latter half of the 20th Century.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

Although he wasn’t badly injured, the incident shook him.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Several blasts shook northern Tehran, an AFP journalist heard, as the Middle East war neared its sixth week.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

He looked thinner than in his prior court appearance, but grinned enthusiastically as he shook his lawyers’ hands.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Betsie drew the little cloth bag from beneath her overalls and held it out to me, but I shook my head.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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.