Dictionary Entries (14 more entries. View all »)
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) | Cite This Source |
shake
Audio Help [sheyk] Pronunciation Key verb, shook, shak·en, shak·ing, noun
—Related forms
Audio Help [sheyk] Pronunciation Key verb, shook, shak·en, shak·ing, noun –verb (used without object)
–verb (used with object)
–noun
—Verb phrases
—Idioms
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. trill1 (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. |
| 38. | shake down,
|
| 39. | shake off,
|
| 40. | shake up,
|
| 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.
|
| 43. | shake hands. hand (def. 77). |
| 44. | shake one's head,
|
| 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 (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Thesaurus Entries (15 more entries. View all »)
| Roget's II: The New Thesaurus | Cite This Source | |
| Main Entry: | shake | |
| Part of Speech: | verb | |
| Definition: | To cause to move to and fro with short, jerky movements. | |
| Synonyms: | jiggle, joggle | |
| Source: | Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. | |
| Roget's II: The New Thesaurus | Cite This Source | |
| Main Entry: | shake | |
| Part of Speech: | verb | |
| Definition: | To move to and fro in short, jerky movements. | |
| Synonyms: | quake, quaver, quiver, shiver, shudder, tremble, twitter, vibrate | |
| Source: | Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. | |
| Roget's II: The New Thesaurus | Cite This Source | |
| Main Entry: | shake | |
| Part of Speech: | verb | |
| Definition: | To move to and fro violently. | |
| Synonyms: | quake, rock, tremble, vibrate | |
| Source: | Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. | |
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