shake up - definition of shake up by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

shake (sh

v. shook (sh

k), shak·en (sh

n), shak·ing, shakes

v.tr.

1. To cause to move to and fro with jerky movements.

2. To cause to quiver, tremble, vibrate, or rock.

3. To cause to lose stability or waver: a crisis that shook my deepest beliefs.

4. To remove or dislodge by jerky movements: shook the dust from the cushions.

a. To bring to a specified condition by or as if by shaking: "It is not easy to shake one's heart free of the impression" John Middleton Murry.

b. Slang To get rid of: couldn't shake the man who was following us.

6. To disturb or agitate; unnerve: She was shaken by the news of the disaster.

7. To brandish or wave, especially in anger: shake one's fist.

8. To clasp (hands) in greeting or leave-taking or as a sign of agreement.

9. Music To trill (a note).

10. Games To rattle and mix (dice) before casting.

v.intr.

1. To move to and fro in short, irregular, often jerky movements.

2. To tremble, as from cold or in anger.

3. To be unsteady; totter or waver.

4. To move something vigorously up and down or from side to side, as in mixing.

5. Music To trill.

6. To shake hands: Let's shake on it.

1. The act of shaking.

2. A trembling or quivering movement.

3. Informal An earthquake.

a. A fissure in rock.

b. A crack in timber caused by wind or frost.

5. Informal A moment or instant; a trice: I'll do it in a shake.

6. Music A trill.

a. See milk shake.

b. A beverage in which the ingredients are mixed by shaking.

8. A rough shingle used to cover rustic buildings, such as barns: cedar shakes.

9. shakes Informal Uncontrollable trembling, as in a person who is cold, frightened, feverish, or ill. Often used with the: was suffering from a bad case of the shakes.

10. Slang A bargain or deal: getting a fair shake.

Phrasal Verbs:

shake down

1. Slang To extort money from.

2. Slang To make a thorough search of: shook down the prisoners' cells for hidden weapons.

3. To subject (a new ship or aircraft) to shakedown testing.

4. To become acclimated or accustomed, as to a new environment or a new job.

shake off

To free oneself of; get rid of: We shook off our fears.

shake up

1. To upset by or as if by a physical jolt or shock: was badly shaken up by the accident.

2. To subject to a drastic rearrangement or reorganization: new management bent on shaking up the company.

Idioms:

give (someone) the shake Slang

To escape from or get rid of: We managed to give our pursuers the shake.

no great shakes Slang

Unexceptional; ordinary: "stepping in between the victim and the bully, even when the victim happens to be no great shakes" Louis Auchincloss.

shake a leg Informal

1. To dance.

2. To move quickly; hurry up.

shake (another's) tree Slang

To arouse to action or reaction; disturb: "[He] so shook Hollywood's tree that . . . all manner of . . . people called me unsolicited to itemize his mistakes or praise his courage" Tina Brown.

shake a stick at Slang

To point out, designate, or name: "All of a sudden there came into being a vast conservative infrastructure: think-tanks . . . and more foundations than you could shake a stick at" National Review.

[Middle English schaken, from Old English sceacan.]

shaka·ble, shakea·ble adj.

Synonyms: shake, tremble, quake, quiver¹, shiver¹, shudder
These verbs mean to manifest involuntary vibratory movement. Shake is the most general: The floor shook when I walked heavily across the room.
Tremble implies quick, rather slight movement, as from excitement, weakness, or anger: The speaker trembled as he denounced his opponents.
Quake refers to more violent movement, as that caused by shock or upheaval: I was so scared that my legs began to quake.
Quiver suggests a slight, rapid, tremulous movement: "Her lip quivered like that of a child about to cry" Booth Tarkington.
Shiver involves rapid trembling, as of a person experiencing chill: "as I in hoary winter night stood shivering in the snow" Robert Southwell.
Shudder applies chiefly to convulsive shaking caused by fear, horror, or revulsion: "She starts like one that spies an adder/ . . . The fear whereof doth make him shake and shudder" Shakespeare. See Also Synonyms at agitate, dismay.

shake up

Verb

1. to mix by shaking

2. to reorganize drastically

3. Informal to shock mentally or physically: the thunderstorm really shook me up

Noun

shake-up

Informal a radical reorganization, such as the reorganization of employees in a company

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Verb	1.	shake up - shock physically; "Georgia was shaken up in the Tech game" bump around, jar move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant"
	2.	shake up - organize anew; "We must reorganize the company if we don't want to go under" reorganize, reorganise organize, organise - cause to be structured or ordered or operating according to some principle or idea retool, revise - revise or reorganize, especially for the purpose of updating and improving; "We must retool the town's economy"
	3.	shake up - shake; especially (a patient to detect fluids or air in the body) succuss shake, agitate - move or cause to move back and forth; "The chemist shook the flask vigorously"; "My hands were shaking"
	4.	shake up - stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of; "These stories shook the community"; "the civil war shook the country" stimulate, stir, excite, shake arouse, elicit, evoke, provoke, enkindle, kindle, fire, raise - call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); "arouse pity"; "raise a smile"; "evoke sympathy" fuel - stimulate; "fuel the debate on creationism" sex, wind up, excite, turn on, arouse - stimulate sexually; "This movie usually arouses the male audience" affright, fright, frighten, scare - cause fear in; "The stranger who hangs around the building frightens me"; "Ghosts could never affright her" thrill, tickle, vibrate - feel sudden intense sensation or emotion; "he was thrilled by the speed and the roar of the engine" invite, tempt - give rise to a desire by being attractive or inviting; "the window displays tempted the shoppers" elate, intoxicate, uplift, lift up, pick up - fill with high spirits; fill with optimism; "Music can uplift your spirits" animate, enliven, inspire, invigorate, exalt - heighten or intensify; "These paintings exalt the imagination" titillate - excite pleasurably or erotically; "A titillating story appeared in the usually conservative magazine"
	5.	shake up - change the arrangement or position of raise up, commove, disturb, stir up, vex, agitate scramble, beat - stir vigorously; "beat the egg whites"; "beat the cream" toss - agitate; "toss the salad" rile, roil - make turbid by stirring up the sediments of poke - stir by poking; "poke the embers in the fireplace" move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant"
	6.	shake up - make fuller by shaking; "fluff up the pillows" fluff up, plump up shake, agitate - move or cause to move back and forth; "The chemist shook the flask vigorously"; "My hands were shaking"