# shake

Pronunciation: say "SHAYK" /ˈʃeɪk/

## Verb

1. To make something move quickly back and forth or up and down.
   - Simple: To hold something and move it quickly back and forth.
   - _You should shake the canister vigorously to mix the paint._
   - _The nurse shook the thermometer to reset the mercury._
2. To move repeatedly from side to side.
   - Simple: To move back and forth, from one side to the other.
   - _Tall buildings shake slightly during strong earthquakes._
   - _Her hands shook as she opened the letter._
3. To move one's head from side to side, especially to show refusal or disapproval.
   - Simple: To turn your head from side to side, often to say no.
   - _The interviewer shook her head at the unrealistic demand._
   - _Parents often shake their heads at their teenagers' choices._
5. To disturb someone emotionally; to leave them shocked or unsettled.
   - Simple: To upset someone or make them feel scared or worried.
   - _The accident shook everyone who witnessed it._
   - _Betrayals like that shake even the most confident people._
6. To get rid of, escape, or evade someone or something.
   - Simple: To get away from or get rid of someone or something.
   - _The runner tried to shake her closest competitor on the final lap._
   - _He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong._
7. To clasp and move another person's hand up and down, usually in greeting or agreement.
   - Simple: To take someone's hand and move it up and down as a greeting.
   - _After the match, the players shook and left the court._
   - _Let's shake on it and move on._
9. To dislodge or remove something by jolting, agitating, or vibrating it off.
   - Simple: To get something off by moving it hard back and forth.
   - _She shook the sand out of her shoes._
   - _Farmers shake ripe olives from the branches onto nets._
11. To waver or lose firmness, as one's resolve or confidence might.
   - Simple: To become weak or unsteady, like when someone loses their confidence.
   - _His resolve did not shake even under enormous pressure._
   - _Their faith in the plan shook after the first failure._
14. To threaten the stability of something, as if about to overthrow it.
   - Simple: To threaten something powerful and make it seem likely to fall.
   - _Mass strikes can shake even a powerful regime._
   - _The revolution shook the foundations of the old empire._
16. To dance, moving the body energetically in time with music.
   - Simple: To dance by moving your body to music.
   - _Couples shake on the floor until the last song ends._
   - _He shook all night once the DJ found his rhythm._
22. To give a trembling, wavering tone to a note; to trill it.
   - Simple: To sing or play a note with a trembling, wavering sound.
   - _The soprano shook the final note until it rang through the hall._
   - _Old singers liked to shake their longest notes for effect._

## Noun

4. A quick to-and-fro or trembling movement, or the act of making something move that way.
   - Simple: A quick back-and-forth movement of something.
   - _A firm shake of the carton settled the cereal._
   - _The sudden shake of the floor sent everyone running outside._
8. A thick, cold drink made by blending milk with ice cream and flavoring.
   - Simple: A thick, cold drink made from milk and ice cream.
   - _He blended a banana shake after his workout._
   - _The diner is famous for its thick vanilla shakes._
10. An involuntary twitch, spasm, or trembling of the body.
   - Simple: An uncontrolled twitch, spasm, or trembling of the body.
   - _A violent shake gripped his limbs as the fever rose._
   - _Fear sent a shake through her whole body._
12. A very brief moment; an instant. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A very short moment of time.
   - _She promised to finish the job in two shakes._
   - _Hang on a shake while I grab my coat._
13. A shock or disturbance, especially a sudden, upsetting event.
   - Simple: A sudden shock that upsets things.
   - _The scandal sent a shake through the entire company._
   - _His sudden resignation was a shake nobody expected._
15. A dance popular in the 1960s in which the dancer shakes the head, limbs, and body.
   - Simple: A 1960s dance where you shake your head, arms, and body.
   - _At the club, couples spun and did the shake all night._
   - _The band played a fast number, and everyone got up to do the shake._
17. A basic wooden shingle split from logs, traditionally used for roofing and similar coverings.
   - Simple: A rough wooden roof tile split from a log instead of sawn.
   - _A single shake had been pried loose by the storm._
   - _Roofers laid overlapping shakes down the slope of the barn._
18. A thin shingle, used as a wooden covering for roofs or walls.
   - Simple: A thin, flat piece of wood used to cover a roof or wall.
   - _A loose shake near the eaves let water seep into the attic._
   - _Thin shakes lay in tight, even courses across the gable._
19. A crack or split that forms between the growth rings in a piece of wood.
   - Simple: A crack in wood that opens up between its growth rings.
   - _A wide shake had opened along the heart of the timber._
   - _Graders rejected boards with shakes near the edges._
20. A fissure running through rock or the earth.
   - Simple: A crack or split in rock or the ground.
   - _A narrow shake cut across the exposed face of the cliff._
   - _Meltwater drained away through shakes in the bedrock._
21. A rapid alternation of a main tone with the note one step above or below it; a trill.
   - Simple: A quick back-and-forth between a note and the note next to it in music.
   - _She placed a quick shake on the last beat of the measure._
   - _The harpsichordist sprinkled shakes through every ornamented line._
23. A drink in which ice cream is added to another beverage, usually a fizzy one.
   - Simple: A cold drink made by adding ice cream to soda.
   - _He sipped a shake while the ice cream slowly fizzed into the cola._
   - _The counter's shakes always came with a long spoon for the ice cream._
24. Loose, leafy bits of cannabis that collect at the bottom of a bag of marijuana.
   - Simple: Small, leafy bits of cannabis that collect at the bottom of a bag.
   - _She swept the loose shake from the corners of the pouch._
   - _What was left in the jar had crumbled down to shake._
25. A substance mixed into powdered cocaine to bulk it out or dilute it. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: A cheap powder mixed into cocaine to make it go further.
   - _The lab found that the seized brick was packed with shake._
   - _Buyers complained that the product was cut hard with shake._
26. Notes, usually high ones, sung with vibrato.
   - Simple: High notes sung with a trembling, wavering sound.
   - _She finished the aria on a soaring shake._
   - _The old ballad called for shakes at the end of each verse._
27. One of the staves of a hogshead or barrel that has been taken apart.
   - Simple: One of the wooden strips from a barrel that has been taken apart.
   - _A single shake had warped too badly to be reused._
   - _The hold was stacked with shakes ready for reassembly overseas._
28. A complete set of staves and heading pieces for a barrel, bundled flat together.
   - Simple: A bundle of barrel staves and end pieces packed flat together.
   - _One shake contained everything a cooper needed for a single cask._
   - _The warehouse stored dozens of shakes against the spring shipping season._
29. An informal time unit of ten nanoseconds, used in nuclear physics.
   - Simple: A unit of time equal to ten nanoseconds.
   - _A single shake passes far faster than any instrument can show the eye._
   - _Engineers timed the early stages of the blast in shakes._
30. The redshank, a wading bird, so named from the nodding of its head while on the ground. *(dialectal, UK)*
   - Simple: A wading bird, the redshank, named for the way it nods its head on the ground.
   - _A lone shake probed the shallows for worms at low tide._
   - _Flocks of shakes scattered as the dog ran across the marsh._

## Origin

From Middle English schaken, from Old English sċeacan ("to shake"), going back through Proto-Germanic *skakaną ("to shake, swing, escape") to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to jump" or "move." It is related to words like Old Norse skaka and Swedish skaka, both meaning "to shake."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/shake (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).