Thesaurus results for SHAKES DOWN

shakes down

verb

present tense third-person singular of shake down

as in squeezes

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of shakes down The commission shakes down property owners by, say, requiring them to remove structures or give up development rights. — Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 1 May 2026 Later, Tom pours vodka into a Phillies cup and watches birds flutter by at night while Robbie gets his guns ready and shakes down a trap house. — Grace Byron, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shakes down

Verb

Intended to foster moderation, the top two system has instead functioned as a primary system that repeatedly squeezes Republicans.

— Dain Fitzgerald, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2026
Apple’s iPhone and Mac sales are on the rise even as a global memory shortage squeezes device makers.

— Emma Roth, The Verge, 30 July 2026

Definition of squeezes

Verb

For van Ess, the decision particularly stings because Google Earth has long been regarded as one of the best tools to verify information posted on social media.

— Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 31 July 2026
The female locates and stings a large insect such as a cicada or katydid and then brings it back to the burrow.

— Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 26 July 2026

Definition of stings

Verb

His torso and thighs grow eye-poppingly muscular beneath their skimpy fur-and-leather togs—a development that does not go unnoticed by a warrior named Red Hair, who plucks the young hunk from his post and tosses him into the prime time of the gladiator pit.

— Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
But the emotional gravity of this offering's deeply personal, melancholic lyrical content plucks an undeniably profound chord that uniquely separates it from the rest of his work.

— Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026

Definition of plucks

Verb

Jessica Gonzalez hustles behind her booth at the recent Renegade Craft Fair, frantically ringing up sales, answering questions and packaging her beeswax candles.

— Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Despite concerns that chip stocks could be topping out as the industry hustles to boost supply, Wall Street thinks Micron still has plenty of room to run.

— Tobias Burns, CNBC, 22 June 2026

Definition of hustles

Verb

The compilation beats Sonic Boom, which brought Kiss to the ranking for the first time in October 2009.

— Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Ballistic stretching beats static stretching for court sports, according to Jim Hsu, MD, a Yale Medicine orthopedic surgeon quoted by Yale New Haven Health.

— Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of beats

Verb

The standout episode—the conversion history of Kendra, a Black striver married to the Schwoopers’ daughter, Shira—sticks its landing, enabling the viewer to see faith as a refuge, not a cage.

— Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
Otherwise, Kail sticks closely to the template established for him, recreating every scene and sequence from the first movie with ruthless fidelity and adding essentially no departures of any significance.

— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 8 July 2026

Definition of sticks

Browse Nearby Words

shakes a leg

shakes down

shakes (off)

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“Shakes down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shakes%20down. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of shakes down

verb

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