Idioms for shake
Origin of shake
before 900; (v.) Middle English
s(c)haken, Old English
sceacan; cognate with Low German
schacken, Old Norse
skaka; (noun) derivative of the v.
SYNONYMS FOR shake
1
oscillate,
waver.
Shake,
quiver,
tremble,
vibrate refer to an agitated movement that, in living things, is often involuntary. To
shake is to agitate more or less quickly, abruptly, and often unevenly so as to disturb the poise, stability, or equilibrium of a person or thing:
a pole shaking under his weight.
To quiver is to exhibit a slight vibratory motion such as that resulting from disturbed or irregular (surface) tension:
The surface of the pool quivered in the breeze.
To tremble (used more often of a person) is to be agitated by intermittent, involuntary movements of the muscles, much like shivering and caused by fear, cold, weakness, great emotion, etc.:
Even stout hearts tremble with dismay.
To vibrate is to exhibit a rapid, rhythmical motion:
A violin string vibrates when a bow is drawn across it.
2 shudder, shiver.
14 daunt.
OTHER WORDS FROM shake
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH shake
shake sheik (see synonym study at the current entry)Words nearby shake
shairp,
shaitan,
shaiva,
shak.,
shaka,
shake,
shake a leg,
shake a stick at,
shake down,
shake hands,
shake in one's boots
British Dictionary definitions for shake off (1 of 2)
shake off
verb (adverb)
to remove or be removed with or as if with a quick movement
she shook off her depression
(tr)
to escape from; elude
they shook off the police
British Dictionary definitions for shake off (2 of 2)
shake
/ (ʃeɪk) /
verb shakes, shaking, shook or shaken (ˈʃeɪkən)
noun
Derived forms of shake
shakable or shakeable, adjectiveWord Origin for shake
Old English
sceacan; related to Old Norse
skaka to shake, Old High German
untscachōn to be driven
Idioms and Phrases with shake off (1 of 2)
shake off
Free oneself or get rid of something or someone, as in I've had a hard time shaking off this cold, or She forged ahead, shaking off all the other runners. It is also put as give someone the shake, as in We managed to give our pursuers the shake. The first term dates from the late 1300s; the slangy variant dates from the second half of the 1800s.
Idioms and Phrases with shake off (2 of 2)
shake