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shake

n. countable
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //ˈʃeɪk// UK //ʃˈeɪk// shake Archaic Dialect General-service Informal Slang

n. a quick movement from side to side or up and down. It can also be a cold drink made by mixing milk, ice cream, and flavorings.

n. an act of moving something rapidly to and fro or up and down; also, a beverage composed of milk and flavorings agitated until frothy.


SIMPLE

He gave the bottle a quick shake before opening it.

CONTEXTUAL

After the long hike, the children shared a chocolate shake at the local diner.

COMPLEX

The sudden shake of the ground during the minor tremor caused several books to tumble from the library shelves, though no structural damage was reported.

Synonyms
Origin

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 shake”), 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.

Usage

Commonly used in the phrase 'a fair shake' to mean a fair opportunity.

Idioms12 entries

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