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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.

He shook hands with those around him and wished people in the packed courtroom a happy new year.

From The Wall Street Journal

He also called on Venezuelans to get back to their daily life, speaking less than two days after the US strikes shook the capital Caracas and special forces seized Maduro and his wife.

From Barron's

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday tapped the country’s military intelligence chief to replace a top political aide who was caught up in a corruption investigation that badly shook the government.

From The Wall Street Journal

Since it was still too early to check in, I shook off the postmeal fatigue and drove downtown, to the heart of the peninsula, and parked on King Street.

From The Wall Street Journal

Back in the current Archers timeline, fans were left on tenterhooks by the cliffhanger broadcast on New Year's Eve, when a dramatic attack shook the village.

From BBC

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.