- [countable, usually singular] an act of shaking somebody/something
- She gave him a shake to wake him.
- Give the bottle a good shake before opening.
- shake of something He dismissed the idea with a firm shake of his head (= turning it from side to side to mean ‘no’).
Extra Examples- He gave himself a mental shake and got down to work.
- a rueful shake of the head
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- good
- vigorous
- firm
- …
- give somebody/something
- with a shake
- shake of
- a shake of your/the head
- the shakes[plural] (informal) a physical condition in which you cannot stop your body from shaking because of fear, illness, or because you have drunk too much alcohol
- I always get the shakes before exams.
- (also milkshake)[countable] a drink made of milk, and sometimes ice cream, with the added taste of fruit or chocolate, which is mixed or shaken until it is full of bubbles
- a strawberry shake
movement
of body
drink
Word OriginOld English sc(e)acan (verb), of Germanic origin.
Idioms
See shake in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarybe no great shakes
- (informal) to be not very good, efficient, suitable, etc.
(give somebody/get) a fair shake (North American English)
(Australian English, New Zealand English (give somebody/get) a fair go)
- (informal) (to give somebody/get) fair treatment that gives you the same chance as somebody else
- Are minority students getting a fair shake at college?
- We need a government that cares about equity and a fair go for all.
in two shakes | in a couple of shakes
- (informal) very soon
- We’ll be there in a couple of shakes.
Check pronunciation:
shake