Meaning of shake in English

shake someone down
shake someone/somewhere down
shake down
shake something off
shake someone/something off
shake out
shake something out
shake someone out of something
shake someone up
shake something up

shake

noun

/ʃeɪk/ us

/ʃeɪk/

shake noun (MOVEMENT)

[ C ]

an act of shaking something:

give something a shake She gave the box a shake to see if there was anything inside it.

shake of "No, no, no," he said with a shake of his head.

the shakes [ plural ] informal

short, quick movements from side to side that your body makes because you are ill, are frightened, or have drunk too much alcohol:

I watched her hands as she prepared coffee and she definitely had the shakes.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Shaking, swinging and vibrating

See more results »

shake noun (DRINK)

[ C ]

a drink made by adding fruit or other ingredients to milk or ice cream and mixing it together :

She was carrying two hot dogs in one hand and a shake in the other.

This place does the best banana shakes.

Synonym

milkshake

Compare

smoothie (DRINK)

Debby Lewis-Harrison/Cultura/GettyImages

[ C ]

a protein shake (= a drink made by mixing a special powder containing protein with milk or water):

This shake will give you about 100 grams of protein, and should be taken immediately after your workout.

That will give you a little more protein than you need, so you can cut the whey in your post-workout shake to 1 scoop.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Soft drinks

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Drinks - general words

shake noun (PIECE OF WOOD)

[ C ] US

a flat piece of wood split (= cut with a tool such as an) axe from a block, and then fixed in rows to make a roof or wall covering:

Cedar shakes are hand split from logs and shaped with a thicker end to give a rustic appearance.

Compare

shingle

jatrax/iStock/Getty Images Plus/GettyImages

More examplesFewer examples

While many people use the terms interchangeably, shingles and shakes are not the same.
Generally, a shingle is sawn on both sides and is thinner at the butt than a shake.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Building materials

See more results »

Idiom

in two shakes (of a lamb's tail)

(Definition of shake from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

shake | American Dictionary

shake

verb

/ʃeɪk/

past tense shook us/ʃʊk/ | past participle shaken us/ˈʃeɪ·kən/

shake verb (MOVE)

Add to word list Add to word list

[ I/T ]

to move something backward and forward or up and down in quick, short movements:

[ T ] Shake the can.

[ T ] She shook Dana gently.

[ T ] Cory shook some powdered sugar on her French toast.

[ I ] The explosion made the ground shake.

[ M ] Lily shook her long hair out (= moved her hair to make it fall loosely around her shoulders).

[ M ] She shook out the tablecloth (= shook it so anything on it fell off).

[ I/T ]

If you or part of your body shakes, you make quick, short movements, or you feel as if you are doing this, because you are cold, frightened, or upset:

[ I ] She was soaking wet and shaking when she when she finally got home.

[ I ] Her hands shook as she opened the letter.

[ I/T ]

If someone’s voice shakes, its sound frequently changes because of fear or other emotions.

shake your fist

If you shake your fist, you hold your hand up with your fingers and thumb closed and move it backward and forward to show you are angry:

They stood at the gate, shaking their fists and shouting.

shake hands

If two people shake hands, they greet or say goodbye by briefly joining hands and moving them slightly up and down:

We shook hands and left.

shake your head

If you shake your head, you move it from side to side to say "no" or show disagreement, sympathy, sadness, or that you do not believe something:

Frank shook his head in disbelief.

My dad shook his head, "No, you can't go."

shake verb (UPSET)

[ T ]

to cause someone to feel upset and troubled:

Juanita was shaken and tried not to cry.

The instructor was shaken by the angry e-mails she received.

shake verb (WEAKEN)

[ T ]

to make someone’s beliefs less certain or strong; to weaken:

Nothing shook her conviction that there was no substitute for hard work.

The defense failed to shake Powell’s testimony.

shake verb (GET RID OF)

[ T ]

to get rid of something, or escape from something:

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Tony had another motive.

I’ve had this cold all week and just can’t seem to shake it.

Idioms

on shaky ground

shake a leg

Phrasal verbs

shake something up
shake someone up
shake down someone
shake off something

shake

noun [ C ]

/ʃeɪk/

shake noun [C] (MOVEMENT)

the act of moving something backward and forward or up and down in quick, short movements:

Give the bottle a shake.

Maria answered no with a shake of her head.

infml A shake is a milkshake.

the shakes infml

The shakes is a condition in which most or all of your body moves slightly from cold, fear, or illness:

Just thinking about the upcoming interview gave him the shakes.

(Definition of shake from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

shake | Business English

shake

verb [ T ]

/ʃeɪk/ us

Add to word list Add to word list

if something shakes someone's beliefs, hopes, etc., it destroys these feelings or makes them weaker:

Shareholders' hopes of a quick profit have been badly shaken by recent events.

The credit crunch shook public confidence in the financial system.

shake hands

to hold someone's hand with one of your hands and move it up and down to greet someone or show that an agreement has been reached:

shake hands with sb He waited in the lobby to shake hands with prospective customers.

After signing the contract both sides shook hands.

shake hands on sth

to reach an agreement about something:

After months of negotiation they finally shook hands on the deal.

Phrasal verbs

shake down
shake sb down
shake out
shake sth out
shake sth up

(Definition of shake from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

What is the pronunciation of shake?

B1,B2,C2,B1,B2,C2

Translations of shake

in Chinese (Traditional)

移動, 搖動, 抖動…

in Chinese (Simplified)

移动, 摇动, 抖动…

in Spanish

agitar, agitarse, temblar…

in Portuguese

sacudir, tremer, agitar…

in more languages

in Marathi

in Japanese

in Turkish

in French

in Catalan

in Dutch

in Tamil

in Hindi

in Gujarati

in Danish

in Swedish

in Malay

in German

in Norwegian

in Urdu

in Ukrainian

in Russian

in Telugu

in Arabic

in Bengali

in Czech

in Indonesian

in Thai

in Vietnamese

in Polish

in Korean

in Italian

हादरणे, कंप सुटणे, थरथरणे…

揺れる, ～を揺する, 振る…

sarsmak, silkelemek, sallamak…

secouer, trembler, bouleverser…

agitar(-se), tremolar, estremir-se…

schudden, schokken, het schudden…

விரைவான, குறுகிய இயக்கங்களில் பின்னோக்கி மற்றும் முன்னோக்கி அல்லது மேல் மற்றும் கீழ் நோக்கி செல்ல அல்லது ஏதாவது செய்ய அல்லது யாராவது இதைச் செய்ய, நீங்கள் நடுங்குகிறீர்கள் என்றால்…

हिल जाना या हिलाना, (भय या घबराहट में) काँपना, (घबराहट में स्वर का) काँपना…

ધ્રૂજવું, થોથવાવું…

ryste, ryst, shake…

skaka, [upp]skaka, göra upprörd…

terketar-ketar, melemahkan, menggoncang…

(er)heben (lassen), erschüttern, das Schütteln…