as in cheated
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
the rumor is that he started his career shaking people down as an enforcer for the mob
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Recent Examples of shaken down
Law firms are shaken down into submission.
—
Christopher Bouzy, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
Christopher Bouzy, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shaken down
Verb
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Some people like to vote on election day, said Dianne Clinkscale from Dallas, arguing that the county’s voters got cheated out their right on to vote.—
Harrison Mantas,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Mar. 2026
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Visitors to the sites at Independence Park were cheated when they were cut off from facts that enable us to imagine ourselves in the lives of those who lived and worked there.—
Carol Quillen,
Time,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When residents are this squeezed, City Hall’s predictable response has been to charge us more.—
Bradley Schnell,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Mar. 2026
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The 2012 draft brought a decent linebacker in Olivier Vernon and squeezed one 1,00-yard season from running back Lamar Miller.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The European flax bedding comes embellished with a crocheted seam just above the ruffled edge and looks like it was plucked right out of a Victorian trousseau.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
28 Feb. 2026
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Rather than wait on her line tho, Sesno smartly came forward and plucked the ball out of the air before a shot could be taken.—
Clark Fahrenthold,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Further down the supply chain, former Army Ranger Patrick Montgomery, who runs KC Cattle Company, located outside Kansas City, Missouri, has been stung by high prices.—
Bloomberg Wire,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
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Further down the supply chain, former Army Ranger Patrick Montgomery, who runs KC Cattle Company, located outside Kansas City, Missouri, has been stung by high prices.—
Enda Curran,
Fortune,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Dale Ellis covers the federal courthouse beat for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, reporting on criminal and civil matters that impact Arkansans.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Mar. 2026
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Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points, and the Clippers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 137-117 on Sunday night to end a three-game losing streak.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Rock Canyon’s renowned student section, which showed out on force on Friday, ripped off three consecutive chants with the Jaguars’ win in the bag.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
6 Mar. 2026
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One filled with phone booths and newsstands and Gray’s Papaya on practically every grimy street corner — a New York where getting your bicycle ripped off was almost as much a rite of passage as stomping on your first cockroach.—
Benjamin Svetkey,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Parties and missile threats A cruise ship packed with passengers is stuck in the Middle East crisis zone.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026
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Ali Hamdan was stuck in gridlock on the road between his village in southern Lebanon, Deir al-Zahrani, and the port city of Sidon.—
FADI TAWIL,
Arkansas Online,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That is certainly true in the medical sector, where digital technology has done little to eradicate long wait times for medical appointments or in emergency rooms.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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The deal got done at a $250 million post-money valuation, and as of February, Apptronik is valued at more than $5 billion.—
Allie Garfinkle,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shaken down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shaken%20down. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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