shake
verb/ʃeɪk/
/ʃeɪk/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they shake | /ʃeɪk/ /ʃeɪk/ |
| he / she / it shakes | /ʃeɪks/ /ʃeɪks/ |
| past simple shook | /ʃʊk/ /ʃʊk/ |
| past participle shaken | /ˈʃeɪkən/ /ˈʃeɪkən/ |
| -ing form shaking | /ˈʃeɪkɪŋ/ /ˈʃeɪkɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to move or make somebody/something move with short quick movements from side to side or up and down
- The whole house shakes when a train goes past.
- shake somebody/something Shake the bottle well before use.
- The explosion shook windows miles from the site.
- shake somebody/something by something She shook him by the shoulders.
- shake somebody/something + adj. He knelt and gently shook her awake.
- She shook her hair loose.
Extra Examples- The ground began to shake.
- He shook the blankets vigorously to get rid of the dust.
- Shake the pan gently to settle the contents.
- She must have shaken the baby quite violently to inflict such severe injuries.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- hard
- roughly
- vigorously
- …
- by
- [transitive] shake something + adv./prep. to move something in a particular direction by shaking
- She bent down to shake a pebble out of her shoe.
- His father used to come home and shake the dust off his work clothes.
- He stood up, shaking sand everywhere.
- [transitive, intransitive] to take somebody’s hand and move it up and down as a way of saying hello or to show that you agree about something
- shake hands Do people in Italy shake hands when they meet?
- shake hands with somebody She refused to shake hands with him.
- shake somebody’s hand He stepped forward and shook my hand.
- shake somebody by the hand Our host shook each of us warmly by the hand.
- shake hands on something They shook hands on the deal (= to show that they had reached an agreement).
- shake on something They shook on the deal (= shook hands to show the deal was agreed).
- Let's shake on it.
Extra ExamplesTopics Opinion and argumenta2- The captains shook hands before the game commenced.
- If I met him I'd shake him by the hand and congratulate him.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- firmly
- vigorously
- warmly
- …
- shake somebody by the hand
- [transitive] shake your head to turn your head from side to side as a way of saying ‘no’ or to show that you are sad, feel doubt, etc.
- ‘Drink?’ he offered. She shook her head.
- The old man watched them walk off into the night, shaking his head sadly.
- She shook her head in disbelief.
- He shook his head at the thought.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- decisively
- emphatically
- firmly
- …
- at
- in
- [transitive] shake your fist (at somebody) to show that you are angry with somebody; to threaten somebody by shaking your fist (= closed hand)
- The man shook his fist at the court after he was sentenced.
- [intransitive] to make short quick movements that you cannot control, for example because you are cold or afraid synonym tremble
- Her hands had started to shake.
- shake with something He was shaking with fear.
- He saw his mother turn away, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
- His whole body shook with rage.
- I was shaking like a leaf.
Extra Examples- He was almost shaking with the intensity of what he was saying.
- He was crying and shaking all over.
- I found myself shaking uncontrollably with cold.
- I just couldn't stop shaking.
- I was numb with dread. I was literally shaking.
- Roxy was practically shaking with anger.
- Natalie fairly shook with laughter.
- She got up, her legs shaking as well as her hands.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- badly
- furiously
- terribly
- …
- from
- with
- be shaking all over
- be shaking from head to toe
- be shaking in your boots
- …
- [intransitive] shake (with something) (of somebody’s voice) to sound unsteady, usually because you are nervous, upset or angry
- ‘Who are you?’ he asked, his voice shaking.
- Her voice shook with emotion.
- [transitive] (not used in the progressive tenses) to shock or upset somebody very much
- shake somebody He was badly shaken by the news of her death.
- shake somebody up The accident really shook her up.
- Shaken up by the early goal against them, the team began to fight back.
- [transitive] shake something to make a belief or an idea less certain
- The incident had shaken her faith in him.
- This announcement is bound to shake the confidence of the industry.
- [transitive] to get rid of something
- shake something off I can't seem to shake off this cold.
- She has finally managed to shake off her old wrist injury.
- shake something He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong.
- She never seemed to completely shake off the dumb blonde image.
object/building/person
hands
your head
your fist
of body
of voice
shock somebody
belief/idea
get rid of
Word OriginOld English sc(e)acan (verb), of Germanic origin.
Idioms
See shake in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee shake in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishshake/rock the foundations of something | shake/rock something to its foundations
- to cause people to question their basic beliefs about something
- This issue has shaken the foundations of French politics.
- an event which rocked the foundations of British politics
- The scandal rocked the legal establishment to its foundations.
shake in your boots/shoes
- (informal) to be very frightened or nervousTopics Feelingsc2
shake a leg
- (old-fashioned, informal) used to tell somebody to start to do something or to hurry
Check pronunciation:
shake