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shake down

 - 4 dictionary results

shake⋅down

  [sheyk-doun]
Use shake down in a Sentence
–noun
1. extortion, as by blackmail or threats of violence.
2. a thorough search: a shakedown of prison cells to uncover hidden drugs.
3. a bed, as of straw or blankets, spread on the floor.
4. any makeshift bed.
5. the act or process of shaking down.
6. Also called shakedown cruise, shakedown flight. a cruise or flight intended to prepare a new vessel or aircraft for regular service by accustoming the crew to its features and peculiarities, breaking in and adjusting machinery, etc.
Also, shake-down.

Origin:
1490–1500; n., adj. use of v. phrase shake down

shake

  [sheyk] verb, shook, shak⋅en, shak⋅ing, noun
–verb (used without object)
1. to move or sway with short, quick, irregular vibratory movements.
2. to tremble with emotion, cold, etc.
3. to become dislodged and fall (usually fol. by off or down): Sand shakes off easily.
4. to move something, or its support or container, briskly to and fro or up and down, as in mixing: Shake before using.
5. to totter; become unsteady.
6. to clasp another's hand in greeting, agreement, congratulations, etc.: Let's shake and be friends again.
7. Music. to execute a trill.
–verb (used with object)
8. to move (something or its support or container) to and fro or up and down with short, quick, forcible movements: to shake a bottle of milk.
9. to brandish or flourish: to shake a stick at someone.
10. to grasp (someone or something) firmly in an attempt to move or rouse by, or as by, vigorous movement to and fro: We shook the tree.
11. to dislodge or dispense (something) by short, quick, forcible movements of its support or container: We shook nuts from the tree.
12. to cause to sway, rock, totter, etc.: to shake the very foundations of society.
13. to agitate or disturb profoundly in feeling: The experience shook him badly.
14. to cause to doubt or waver; weaken. to shake one's self-esteem.
15. Music. to trill (a note).
16. to mix (dice) by rolling in the palm of the hand before they are cast.
17. to get rid of; elude: They tried to shake their pursuers.
–noun
18. an act or instance of shaking, rocking, swaying, etc.
19. tremulous motion.
20. a tremor.
21. shakes, (used with a singular verb) Informal. a state or spell of trembling, as caused by fear, fever, cold, etc. (usually prec. by the).
22. a disturbing blow; shock.
23. Informal. milk shake.
24. the act or a manner of clasping another's hand in greeting, agreement, etc.: He has a strong shake.
25. Informal. chance or fate; deal: a fair shake.
26. a cast of the dice: He threw an eight on his last shake.
27. something resulting from shaking.
28. an earthquake.
29. a fissure in the earth.
30. an internal crack or fissure in timber.
31. Music. trill 1 (def. 9).
32. an instant: I'll be with you in a shake.
33. Carpentry. a shingle or clapboard formed by splitting a short log into a number of tapered radial sections with a hatchet.
34. Horology. (in an escapement) the distance between the nearer corner of one pallet and the nearest tooth of the escape wheel when the other pallet arrests an escape tooth.
35. Chiefly South Midland U.S. shaker (def. 2).
36. a dance deriving from the twist.
37. Slang. the dried leaves of the marijuana plant.
—Verb phrases
38. shake down,
a. to cause to descend by shaking; bring down.
b. to cause to settle.
c. to condition; test: to shake down a ship.
d. Informal. to extort money from.
e. Slang. to search (someone), esp. to detect concealed weapons.
39. shake off,
a. to rid oneself of; reject.
b. to get away from; leave behind.
c. Baseball, Softball. (of a pitcher) to indicate rejection of (a sign by the catcher for a certain pitch) by shaking the head or motioning with the glove.
40. shake up,
a. to shake in order to mix or loosen.
b. to upset; jar.
c. to agitate mentally or physically: The threat of attack has shaken up the entire country.
—Idioms
41. no great shakes, Informal. of no particular ability; unimportant; common: As opera companies go, this one is no great shakes.
42. shake a leg, Informal.
a. to hurry up; get a move on: You'd better shake a leg or we'll miss the first act.
b. to dance.
43. shake hands. hand (def. 77).
44. shake one's head,
a. to indicate disapproval, disagreement, negation, or uncertainty by turning one's head from one side to the other and back: I asked him if he knew the answer, but he just shook his head.
b. to indicate approval, agreement, affirmation or acceptance by nodding one's head up and down.
45. shake the dust from one's feet. dust (def. 25).
46. two shakes or two shakes of a lamb's tail, a very short time; a moment.
Origin:
bef. 900; (v.) ME s(c)haken, OE sceacan; c. LG schacken, ON skaka; (n.) deriv. of the v.

Related forms:
shak⋅a⋅ble, shake⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
1. oscillate, waver. Shake, quiver, tremble, vibrate refer to an agitated movement that, in living things, is often involuntary. To shake is to agitate more or less quickly, abruptly, and often unevenly so as to disturb the poise, stability, or equilibrium of a person or thing: a pole shaking under his weight. To quiver is to exhibit a slight vibratory motion such as that resulting from disturbed or irregular (surface) tension: The surface of the pool quivered in the breeze. To tremble (used more often of a person) is to be agitated by intermittent, involuntary movements of the muscles, much like shivering and caused by fear, cold, weakness, great emotion, etc.: Even stout hearts tremble with dismay. To vibrate is to exhibit a rapid, rhythmical motion: A violin string vibrates when a bow is drawn across it. 2. shudder, shiver. 14. daunt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To shake down
shake   (shāk)   
v.   shook (shŏŏk), shak·en (shā'kən), shak·ing, shakes

v.   tr.

  1. To cause to move to and fro with jerky movements.

  2. To cause to quiver, tremble, vibrate, or rock.

  3. To cause to lose stability or waver: a crisis that shook my deepest beliefs.

  4. To remove or dislodge by jerky movements: shook the dust from the cushions.

    1. To bring to a specified condition by or as if by shaking: "It is not easy to shake one's heart free of the impression" (John Middleton Murry).

    2. Slang To get rid of: couldn't shake the man who was following us.

  6. To disturb or agitate; unnerve: She was shaken by the news of the disaster.

  7. To brandish or wave, especially in anger: shake one's fist.

  8. To clasp (hands) in greeting or leave-taking or as a sign of agreement.

  9. Music To trill (a note).

  10. Games To rattle and mix (dice) before casting.

v.   intr.

  1. To move to and fro in short, irregular, often jerky movements.

  2. To tremble, as from cold or in anger.

  3. To be unsteady; totter or waver.

  4. To move something vigorously up and down or from side to side, as in mixing.

  5. Music To trill.

  6. To shake hands: Let's shake on it.

n.  

  1. The act of shaking.

  2. A trembling or quivering movement.

  3. Informal An earthquake.

    1. A fissure in rock.

    2. A crack in timber caused by wind or frost.

    3. See milk shake.

    4. A beverage in which the ingredients are mixed by shaking.

  5. Informal A moment or instant; a trice: I'll do it in a shake.

  6. Music A trill.

    1. See milk shake.

    2. A beverage in which the ingredients are mixed by shaking.

  8. A rough shingle used to cover rustic buildings, such as barns: cedar shakes.

  9. shakes Informal Uncontrollable trembling, as in a person who is cold, frightened, feverish, or ill. Often used with the: was suffering from a bad case of the shakes.

  10. Slang A bargain or deal: getting a fair shake.

  11. Slang To extort money from.

  12. Slang To make a thorough search of: shook down the prisoners' cells for hidden weapons.

  13. To subject (a new ship or aircraft) to shakedown testing.

  14. To become acclimated or accustomed, as to a new environment or a new job.

  15. To upset by or as if by a physical jolt or shock: was badly shaken up by the accident.

  16. To subject to a drastic rearrangement or reorganization: new management bent on shaking up the company.

Phrasal Verb(s):
shake down

  1. Slang To extort money from.

  2. Slang To make a thorough search of: shook down the prisoners' cells for hidden weapons.

  3. To subject (a new ship or aircraft) to shakedown testing.

  4. To become acclimated or accustomed, as to a new environment or a new job.

shake offTo free oneself of; get rid of: We shook off our fears.
shake up

  1. To upset by or as if by a physical jolt or shock: was badly shaken up by the accident.

  2. To subject to a drastic rearrangement or reorganization: new management bent on shaking up the company.


Idiom(s):
give (someone) the shake Slang To escape from or get rid of: We managed to give our pursuers the shake.

Idiom(s):
no great shakes Slang Unexceptional; ordinary: "stepping in between the victim and the bully, even when the victim happens to be no great shakes" (Louis Auchincloss).

Idiom(s):
shake a leg Informal

  1. To dance.

  2. To move quickly; hurry up.


Idiom(s):
shake (another's) tree Slang To arouse to action or reaction; disturb: "[He] so shook Hollywood's tree that . . . all manner of . . . people called me unsolicited to itemize his mistakes or praise his courage" (Tina Brown).

Idiom(s):
shake a stick at Slang To point out, designate, or name: "All of a sudden there came into being a vast conservative infrastructure: think-tanks . . . and more foundations than you could shake a stick at" (National Review).

[Middle English schaken, from Old English sceacan.]
shak'a·ble, shake'a·ble adj.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to manifest involuntary vibratory movement. Shake is the most general: The floor shook when I walked heavily across the room.
Tremble implies quick, rather slight movement, as from excitement, weakness, or anger: The speaker trembled as he denounced his opponents.
Quake refers to more violent movement, as that caused by shock or upheaval: I was so scared that my legs began to quake.
Quiver suggests a slight, rapid, tremulous movement: "Her lip quivered like that of a child about to cry" (Booth Tarkington).
Shiver involves rapid trembling, as of a person experiencing chill: "as I in hoary winter night stood shivering in the snow" (Robert Southwell).
Shudder applies chiefly to convulsive shaking caused by fear, horror, or revulsion: "She starts like one that spies an adder/ . . . The fear whereof doth make him shake and shudder" (Shakespeare). See Also Synonyms at agitate, dismay.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Idioms & Phrases

shake down

  1. Extort money from, as in They had quite a racket, shaking down merchants for so-called protection. [Slang; second half of 1800s]

  2. Make a thorough search of, as in They shook down all the passengers, looking for drugs. [Slang early 1900s]

  3. Subject a new vehicle or machine to a tryout, as in We'll shake down the new model next week.

  4. Become acclimated or accustomed, to a new place, job, or the like, as in Is this your first job? You'll soon shake down. [Mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
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