shrug

[shruhg]

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verb (used with object), shrugged, shrug·ging.

to raise and contract (the shoulders), expressing indifference, disdain, etc.

verb (used without object), shrugged, shrug·ging.

to raise and contract the shoulders.

noun

the movement of raising and contracting the shoulders.

a short sweater or jacket that ends above or at the waistline.

Verb Phrases

shrug off,

to disregard; minimize: to shrug off an insult.
to rid oneself of: to shrug off the effects of a drug.

Origin of shrug

1350–1400; (v.) Middle English schruggen to shudder, shrug < ?; (noun) late Middle English shrugge a tug, pull, derivative of the v.

Related formsun·shrug·ging, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for shrug

nod, signal, sign, token, indication, action, reminder, expression, salute, hurtle, fling, bump, flop, jolt, bounce, snatch, wriggle, wiggle, wrench, lug

Examples from the Web for shrug

Contemporary Examples of shrug

“The girls I used to race with would just pull their pants around their ankles and hang off the back,” Ralphie says with I shrug.
Inside Sailing’s Biggest Race
Lizzie Crocker
October 11, 2014
Mason ambles through life, free to enjoy the little moments and shrug off the big ones, just like his father did before him.
Black 'Boyhood' Is Always Black First, Boy Later
Teo Bugbee
August 30, 2014
Around my own friends, someone will wind up a conversation with a shrug and a baffling—to me—utterance of “Haters gonna hate.”
Why We Should Hate 'Haters Gonna Hate'
Tim Teeman
August 25, 2014
Of course this gets at the heart of why some attacks on black Republicans inspire a shrug.
The Secret War On Black Republicans
Keli Goff
July 11, 2014
Yet, relative to the massive amount of attention, shock, and criticism, I can only muster a shrug and a plea to chill out.
The Internet’s Latest Pearl-Clutching Panic Over Mamading Is Insane
Emily Shire
July 4, 2014

Historical Examples of shrug

He returned with a shrug of the shoulders to his table in the morning-room.
Viviette
William J. Locke
The shoulders of Mr Verloc, without actually moving, suggested a shrug.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
"They are paying themselves for the mules and horses," said Fray Henriques with a shrug.
Fair Margaret
H. Rider Haggard
"That you will find out," she said, with a shrug of her shoulders.
Fair Margaret
H. Rider Haggard
A machine which makes a Frenchman shrug his shoulders with good reason.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce

British Dictionary definitions for shrug

shrug

verb shrugs, shrugging or shrugged

to draw up and drop (the shoulders) abruptly in a gesture expressing indifference, contempt, ignorance, etc

noun

the gesture so made

a woman's short jacket or close-fitting cardigan

Word Origin for shrug

C14: of uncertain origin

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

Word Origin and History for shrug

c.1400, schurgyng, of uncertain origin. Perhaps connected to Danish skrugge "to stoop, crouch." Related: Shrugged; shrugging. To shrug (something) off "dismiss" is recorded from 1909.

a shoulder motion meant to express indifference, want of an answer, etc., 1590s, from shrug (v.).