shrug
verb (used with object)
to raise and contract (the shoulders), expressing indifference, disdain, etc.
was shrugging
-
past progressiveof shrug.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
The e-commerce and cloud-computing company was shrugging off an Amazon Web Services outage that took down many major internet services on Monday to climb 0.5% to $217.52 in the premarket.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2025
Streisand was shrugging that “are you serious right now?” shrug: “Turkey is not Brazil.”
From New York Times ● Nov. 7, 2023
When her account was first published, Trump said he had no idea who she was, shrugging off a photo that showed the two and their then-spouses interacting at a 1987 social event.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 24, 2023
Thursday and was shrugging off the snowstorm as just another winter day in New England.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2018
The man she was addressing, a horse trader, was shrugging and spreading his hands.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
