shrug
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A person wearing a shrug, highlighted in pink
English
Etymology
From Middle English schruggen, shrukken, probably of North Germanic origin related to Danish skrugge, skrukke (“to stoop; crouch”), Swedish skruga, skrukka (“to huddle; crouch”), all from or related to Old Norse skrykkva, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. Compare also Old English scrincan (“to shrink”). More at shrink.
Pronunciation
Noun
shrug (plural shrugs)
- A lifting of the shoulders to signal indifference or a casual lack of knowledge.
- He dismissed my comment with a shrug.
- A cropped, cardigan-like garment with short or long sleeves, typically knitted.
Derived terms
Translations
gesture
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Verb
shrug (third-person singular simple present shrugs, present participle shrugging, simple past and past participle shrugged)
- (transitive, intransitive) To raise (the shoulders) to express uncertainty, lack of concern, (formerly) dread, etc.
- I asked him for an answer and he just shrugged.
- When he saw the problem, he just shrugged and started fixing it.
- 1712 January 13 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, January 2, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 264; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, , volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
- He […] shrugs his shoulders when you talk of securities.
Usage notes
The word "shrug" and "shrug one's shoulders" have the same meaning.
Derived terms
Translations
to raise the shoulders to express uncertainty, lack of concern, etc.
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