: an act or instance of shaking up
specifically
: an extensive and often drastic reorganization
shook up; shaken up; shaking up; shakes up
2
: to jar by or as if by a physical shock
the collision shook up both drivers
3
: to effect an extensive and often drastic reorganization of
Examples of shake-up in a Sentence
Verb
the news that we had failed the auto inspection shook us up
Recent Examples on the Web
Peter White, Deadline, 7 Sep. 2025
The latest officials to have been ousted in high-profile shake-ups include former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez, Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, and Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
—David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 3 Sep. 2025
Chris Vannini, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Determined to make a difference and shake up the monotony of his duties in the City of Angels, Gabriel meddles in the life of Arj (Ansari), a struggling gig worker making ends meet by taking on various gig economy jobs and stocking Home Depot shelves, all while living in his car.
—Jessica Wang, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shake-up
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Noun
Deadline understands that the cast shake-up, which saw four people including Heidi Gardner exit and five people including Please Don’t Destroy’s Ben Marshall join, is now complete, according to industry sources.
—Peter White, Deadline, 7 Sep. 2025
The latest officials to have been ousted in high-profile shake-ups include former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez, Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, and Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
—David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
With multiple overtime games, upsets and close calls, Week 2 provided a lot of reasons to shake up this week’s edition of The Athletic 136, just not at the top.
—Chris Vannini, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Determined to make a difference and shake up the monotony of his duties in the City of Angels, Gabriel meddles in the life of Arj (Ansari), a struggling gig worker making ends meet by taking on various gig economy jobs and stocking Home Depot shelves, all while living in his car.
—Jessica Wang, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shake-up
Cite this Entry
“Shake-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shake-up. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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