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shrug

[shruhg]
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verb (used with object), shrugged, shrug·ging.
  1. to raise and contract (the shoulders), expressing indifference, disdain, etc.
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verb (used without object), shrugged, shrug·ging.
  1. to raise and contract the shoulders.
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noun
  1. the movement of raising and contracting the shoulders.
  2. a short sweater or jacket that ends above or at the waistline.
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Verb Phrases
  1. shrug off,
    1. to disregard; minimize: to shrug off an insult.
    2. to rid oneself of: to shrug off the effects of a drug.
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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. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for shrug off

shrug off

verb (tr, adverb)
  1. to minimize the importance of; dismiss
  2. to get rid of
  3. to wriggle out of or push off (clothing)
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shrug

verb shrugs, shrugging or shrugged
  1. to draw up and drop (the shoulders) abruptly in a gesture expressing indifference, contempt, ignorance, etc
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noun
  1. the gesture so made
  2. a woman's short jacket or close-fitting cardigan
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Word Origin

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 off

shrug

v.

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.

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shrug

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with shrug off

shrug off

1

Minimize the importance of, as in That nasty review didn't bother him at all; he just shrugged it off. [Early 1900s]

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2

Get rid of, as in She managed to shrug off her drowsiness and keep driving. [Mid-1900s]

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3

Wriggle out of a garment, as in He shrugged off his coat. [First half of 1900s]

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.