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in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English schaken , from Old English sċeacan , sċacan ( “ to shake ” ) , from Proto-West Germanic *skakan , from Proto-Germanic *skakaną ( “ to shake, swing, escape ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keg- , *(s)kek- ( “ to jump, move ” ) .
Cognate with Scots schake , schack ( “ to shake ” ) , West Frisian schaekje ( “ to shake ” ) , Dutch schaken ( “ to elope, make clean, shake ” ) , Low German schaken ( “ to move, shift, push, shake ” ) and schacken ( “ to shake, shock ” ) , Old Norse skaka ( “ to shaka ” ) , Norwegian Nynorsk skaka ( “ to shake ” ) , Swedish skaka ( “ to shake ” ) , Danish skage ( “ to shake ” ) , Dutch schokken ( “ to shake, shock ” ) , Russian скака́ть ( skakátʹ , “ to jump ” ) . More at shock .
Pronunciation
Verb
shake (third-person singular simple present shakes , present participle shaking , simple past shook or ( rare ) shaked or ( slang ) shooketh , past participle shaken or ( dialectal ) shook )
( transitive , ergative ) To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly.
The earthquake shook the building.
He shook the can of soda for thirty seconds before delivering it to me, so that, when I popped it open, soda went everywhere.
1963 , Margery Allingham , “Meeting Point”, in The China Governess: A Mystery , London: Chatto & Windus , →OCLC , page 232 :Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and now seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.
( transitive ) To move (one's head) from side to side, especially to indicate refusal , reluctance , or disapproval .
Shaking his head, he kept repeating “No, no, no”.
( transitive ) To move or remove by agitating; to throw off by a jolting or vibrating motion.
to shake fruit down from a tree
c. 1607–1608 , William Shakeſpeare , The Late, And much admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. , London: Imprinted at London for Henry Goſſon , , published 1609 , →OCLC , [Act III, scene ii] :[ …] Shake off the golden ſlumber of repoſe; [ …]
( transitive ) To disturb emotionally; to shock .
Synonym: traumatize
Her father’s death shook her terribly.
He was shaken by what had happened.
2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs ”, in The Economist , volume 408 , number 8845 :Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.
( transitive , idiomatic ) To lose , evade , or get rid of (something).
I can’t shake the feeling that I forgot something.
( intransitive ) To move from side to side.
Synonyms: shiver , tremble
She shook with grief.
1918 , W B Maxwell , chapter XXIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp , Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company , →OCLC :The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking .
( intransitive , usually as "shake on") To shake hands .
OK, let’s shake on it.
( intransitive ) To dance .
She was shaking it on the dance floor.
( transitive ) To give a tremulous tone to; to trill.
to shake a note in music
( transitive , figurative ) To threaten to overthrow.
The experience shook my religious belief.
2014 January 20, Didi Kirsten Tatlow, “‘She. Herself. Naked.': The Art of He Chengyao ”, in The New York Times , →ISSN , →OCLC , archived from the original on 16 August 2023 , Sinosphere :The story of Ms. He and her mother began in the early 1960s, shortly before the Cultural Revolution shook China.
( intransitive , figurative ) To be agitated; to lose firmness.
Derived terms
Translations
transitive: to cause to move
Afrikaans: skud
Albanian: shkund (sq) , lëkund (sq)
Arabic: هَزَّ ( hazza )
Aramaic: ܢܦܨ ( napasˀ )
Armenian: սասանել (hy) ( sasanel )
Assamese: লৰা ( lora ) , ঘোঁট ( ghü̃t ) ( liquid ) , মথ ( moth ) ( liquid )
Bakhtiari: شندنیدن ( šondeniðen )
Bashkir: һелкеү ( helkew )
Belarusian: трэ́сці impf ( trésci )
Bulgarian: треса́ (bg) impf ( tresá ) , клатя (bg) ( klatja )
Burmese: ခါ (my) ( hka )
Catalan: agitar (ca) , sacsejar (ca)
Cherokee: ᎠᏖᎸᎲᏍᎦ ( atelvhvsga )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 搖 / 摇 (zh) ( yáo )
Czech: třást impf
Danish: ryste (da)
Dutch: schudden (nl)
Esperanto: skui
Estonian: raputama
Finnish: ravistaa (fi) , ravistella (fi) , heristää
French: secouer (fr) , agiter (fr)
Galician: axitar , sacudir (gl) , abalar (gl) , abanar (gl) , acanear (gl) , abanear (gl) , bandear (gl)
Georgian: ნჯღრევა ( nǯɣreva ) , ქნევა ( kneva )
German: schütteln (de) , erschüttern (de)
Greek: τραντάζω (el) ( trantázo ) , σείω (el) ( seío )
Ancient: σείω ( seíō )
Hebrew: זִעְזֵעַ (he) ( zi'zéa' ) , נִיעֵר ( ni'ér )
Hindi: हिलाना (hi) ( hilānā )
Hungarian: ráz (hu)
Icelandic: hrista (is)
Ingrian: puistaa , raputtaa
Irish: croith
Italian: scuotere (it) , agitare (it)
Japanese: 揺する (ja) ( ゆする, yusuru ) , 揺らす (ja) ( ゆらす, yurasu ) , 振る (ja) ( ふる, furu )
Khmer: អង្រន់ (km) ( ʼɑngrŭən ) , អង្រួន (km) ( ʼɑngruən )
Korean: 흔들리다 (ko) ( heundeullida )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: شەقاندن ( şeqandin )
Ladino: menear
Latin: commoveō (la)
Latvian: kratīt , purināt
Livonian: kratīņtõ , repțõ
Low German:
German Low German: schüdden
Luxembourgish: rëselen , stuckelen
Macedonian: тресе impf ( trese )
Malay: please add this translation if you can
Malayalam: കുലുക്കുക ( kulukkuka )
Maori: ruirui , whakaoioi , whakangāueue , hauruturutu ( with violence or vigorously ) , haurui , whakakarekare ( a liquid ) , kopekope , rawharawha
Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian: riste (no)
Occitan: agitar (oc) , secodre (oc)
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: трѧсти impf ( tręsti )
Old East Slavic: трясти impf ( trjasti )
Old English: cweċċan , āhrēran
Persian: تکاندن (fa) ( tekândan )
Polish: trząść (pl) impf , potrząsnąć (pl) pf
Portuguese: sacudir (pt) , agitar (pt)
Romanian: agita (ro) , scutura (ro)
Russian: трясти́ (ru) impf ( trjastí )
Sanskrit: इङ्गति (sa) ( iṅgati )
Scottish Gaelic: crath
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: тре́сти impf
Roman: trésti (sh) impf
Slovak: triasť impf
Slovene: trésti impf
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: tśěsć impf
Spanish: agitar (es) , sacudir (es) , jamaquear (es) , samaquear ( a person, Latin America ) , zamaquear ( a person, Latin America ) , zarandear (es) , zabuquear (es) ( a liquid container ) , zangolotear (es)
Sranan Tongo: seki
Swahili: kutikisa
Swedish: skaka (sv)
Tamil: ஆட்டு (ta) ( āṭṭu )
Thai: เขย่า (th) ( kà-yào )
Tocharian B: wip-
Ukrainian: труси́ти impf ( trusýty ) , трясти́ impf ( trjastý )
Vietnamese: lắc (vi) , lay (vi)
Walloon: scheure (wa)
to move one's head from side to side
transitive: to disturb emotionally
Armenian: սասանել (hy) ( sasanel )
Bulgarian: разтърсвам (bg) ( raztǎrsvam )
Danish: ryste (da) , chokere
Dutch: schokken (nl)
Finnish: järkyttää (fi)
French: secouer (fr)
German: erschüttern (de)
Hebrew: זִעְזֵעַ (he) ( zi'zéa' )
Hungarian: megráz (hu)
Italian: scuotere (it) , scioccare (it) , atterrire (it)
Japanese: 動揺させる (ja) ( どうようさせる, dōyō saseru ) , 狼狽させる (ja) ( ろうばいさせる, rōbai saseru )
Latin: commoveō (la)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ryste (no)
Polish: wstrząsnąć (pl) pf
Portuguese: mexer com , abalar (pt)
Romanian: agita (ro)
Russian: потряса́ть (ru) impf ( potrjasátʹ ) , потрясти́ (ru) pf ( potrjastí )
Slovene: pretresti
Spanish: agitar (es) , alterar (es) , afectar (es) , estremecer (es)
Swedish: skaka (sv)
Ukrainian: потряса́ти impf ( potrjasáty ) , потрясти́ pf ( potrjastý )
transitive: to lose, evade
intransitive: to move from side to side
Arabic: هَزَّ ( hazza )
Bulgarian: клатя се ( klatja se )
Burmese: လှုပ် (my) ( hlup )
Chickasaw: yollichi
Chinese:
Mandarin: 哆嗦 (zh) ( duōsuo ) , 顫抖 / 颤抖 (zh) ( chàndǒu, zhàndǒu ) , 發抖 / 发抖 (zh) ( fādǒu ) , 顫慄 / 颤栗 (zh) ( zhànlì ) , 震顫 / 震颤 (zh) ( zhènchàn )
Czech: třást
Danish: rokke
Finnish: vavista (fi) , täristä (fi)
French: se secouer (fr)
Galician: tremer , rebillar
German: schütteln (de)
Hindi: हिलना (hi) ( hilnā )
Hungarian: remeg (hu)
Italian: tremare (it) , agitarsi (it)
Japanese: 揺れる (ja) ( ゆれる, yureru )
Korean: 흔들다 (ko) ( heundeulda ) , 떨다 (ko) ( tteolda ) ( tremble )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: شەقاندِنەوە ( şeqandinewe )
Ladino: menear
Malayalam: കുലുങ്ങുക (ml) ( kuluṅṅuka )
Maori: tīoioi , kereū , tārurerure
Nahuatl: cuecuexi , cuecuechiuia
Old English: cwacian
Oromo: kerkeruu
Portuguese: sacudir (pt) , tremer (pt)
Russian: трясти́сь (ru) impf ( trjastísʹ ) , шата́ться (ru) impf ( šatátʹsja )
Slovene: tresti se
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: tśěsć se impf
Swedish: skaka (sv)
Thai: สั่น (th) ( sàn )
Tok Pisin: guria
Ukrainian: трясти́ся impf ( trjastýsja ) , хита́тися impf ( xytátysja )
intransitive: to shake hands
Translations to be checked
Noun
shake (countable and uncountable , plural shakes )
The act of shaking or being shaken; tremulous or back-and-forth motion.
The cat gave the mouse a shake .
She replied in the negative, with a shake of her head.
( usually in the plural ) A twitch , a spasm , a tremor .
c. 1587–1588 , [Christopher Marlowe ], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part , 2nd edition, part 1, London: Richard Iones, , published 1592 , →OCLC ; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973 , →ISBN , Act II, scene i :And when the princely Perſean Diadem, Shall ouerweigh his wearie witleſſe head, And fall like mellowed fruit, with ſhakes of death, In faire Perſea noble Tamburlain Shall be my Regent, and remaine as King:
( usually preceded by definite article ) A dance popular in the 1960s in which the head, limbs, and body are shaken.
1969 , Allen V. Ross, Vice in Bombay , London: Tallis Press, page 52 :The snake did the frug, the monkey did the shake . The crowd, mostly young couples, tourists and kids, loved it.
A milkshake .
A beverage made by adding ice cream to a (usually carbonated ) drink; a float .
Shake cannabis , small, leafy fragments of cannabis that gather at the bottom of a bag of marijuana.
( US , slang , uncountable ) An adulterant added to cocaine powder.[ 1]
1989 , Terry Williams, chapter 2, in The Cocaine Kids , Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, page 35 :[ …] most suppliers will allow up to 120 grams of shake to a kilo, or 12 percent; kilo-level buyers are usually unhappy if they find more.
( building material ) A thin shingle .
A crack or split between the growth rings in wood .
A fissure in rock or earth .
A basic wooden shingle made from split logs , traditionally used for roofing etc.
( informal ) Instant, second. (Especially in two shakes .)
( nautical ) One of the staves of a hogshead or barrel taken apart.
1820 , William Scoresby, An Account of the Arctic Regions :Empty casks are [ …] taken to pieces, and the staves closely packed up in a cylindrical form, constituting what are called shakes or packs
( music ) A rapid alternation of a principal tone with another represented on the next degree of the staff above or below it; a trill .
( music ) In singing, notes (usually high ones) sung vibrato .
1831 , L E L[andon ], chapter XIV, in Romance and Reality. , volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley , , →OCLC , page 263 :A Signora Rossinuola, with the face of a goddess, and the voice of an angel, made her first curtsy that evening to the Neapolitans. She was received with the most rapturous applause. Nothing was heard of next day but her shake and her smile.
A shook of staves and headings .[ 2]
( UK , dialect ) The redshank , so called from the nodding of its head while on the ground.
A shock or disturbance.
1864 , Elizabeth Gaskell, Cousin Phillis :As long as I had seen Mr Holdsworth in the rooms at the little inn at Hensleydale, where I had been accustomed to look upon him as an invalid, I had not been aware of the visible shake his fever had given to his health.
( historical , nuclear physics ) An informal unit of time equal to 10 nanoseconds .
2003 , Ruth H. Howes, Caroline L. Herzenberg, Their Day in the Sun: Women of the Manhattan Project (page 97)
Most of the fission energy was released in the last few generations, so if the device blew itself apart before about fifty-seven shakes had elapsed,
Derived terms
Translations
beverage made of ice cream and carbonated drink
— see float
small, leafy fragments of cannabis
building material: thin shingle
See also
( crack or split in wood ) : knot
References
^ Tom Dalzell (ed.), The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English, New York: Routledge, 2009, p. 858.
^ Edward H Knight (1877 ) “Shake”, in Knight’s American Mechanical Dictionary. , volumes III (REA–ZYM), New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton , →OCLC .
Anagrams
Italian
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English shake . First attested in 1966.
Noun
shake m (uncountable )
shake ( act of shaking or being shaken )
( dance ) shake ( a type of dance )
Japanese
Romanization
shake
Rōmaji transcription of しゃけ
Rōmaji transcription of シャケ
Polish
shake
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English shake .
Pronunciation
Noun
shake m inan
milkshake , shake ( milk and ice cream beverage )
Synonym: koktajl mleczny
Declension
Further reading
shake in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Spanish
Pronunciation
Noun
shake m (plural shakes )
shake ( drink )