shrug

1 of 2

verb

ˈshrəg 

 especially Southern  ˈsrəg

shrugged; shrugging

intransitive verb

: to raise or draw in the shoulders especially to express aloofness, indifference, or uncertainty

transitive verb

: to lift or contract (the shoulders) especially to express aloofness, indifference, or uncertainty

shrug

2 of 2

noun

1

: an act of shrugging

2

: a woman's small waist-length or shorter jacket

Examples of shrug in a Sentence

Verb

I asked if he wanted to go out to dinner, and he just shrugged.

He just shrugged his shoulders.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Society has issues around women making money and lots of it, but rich women know how to shrug that off. —Melissa Houston, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025

Some will see this as a stain on his reputation, others will shrug their shoulders and say that football has never been an especially moral place, and that worse things are happening out there than accounting indiscretions. —Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2025

Noun

Read the full review. More of a shrug than a gut punch. —The New York Times, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025

These killings doubled as cover for war crimes and a brutal shrug: what else to do with those cast as human refuse? —James Wood, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English schruggen

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun

1594, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing shrug

• shrug off

Rhymes for shrug

• chug
• doug
• drug
• dug
• hug
• jug
• lug
• mug
• plug
• pug
• rug
• rugg

Kids Definition

shrug

verb

ˈshrəg

shrugged; shrugging

: to draw or hunch up the shoulders usually to express doubt, uncertainty, or lack of interest

shrug noun