as in cheating
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shaking down
The city hired a second firm to represent Watts, as the city was legally responsible for covering legal judgments against him despite his federal prison sentence for shaking down a drug courier.
—
Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
And that’s important, especially as players age, because teams like the Dolphins seize on shaking down injured, or underperforming talent.
—Miami Herald, 26 Dec. 2025
Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
And that’s important, especially as players age, because teams like the Dolphins seize on shaking down injured, or underperforming talent.
—Miami Herald, 26 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shaking down
Verb
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An angler competing in a walleye derby on Saskatchewan’s Montreal Lake was kicked out of the ice-fishing tournament Saturday after being accused of cheating.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
26 Mar. 2026
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Last year, a dozen people were charged with using and selling a smog-check cheating device.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Serve with garlic toasts and lemon wedges for squeezing over if desired.—
Rebecca Firkser,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
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Photos and video show the explorers squeezing through jagged crevices deep inside the karsts, using flashlights to guide them further along an otherwise pitch-black maze of rocky burrows.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Alcohol can be stinging and drying to the skin.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
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Meta had the worst week in the group, dropping more than 11% after two stinging court defeats added to the social media company's challenges.—
Ari Levy,
CNBC,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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When not plucking away at a keyboard, Madison teaches yoga and mountain bikes with her two Australian shepherds, Cholla and Poppy, through Missoula's Rattlesnake Wilderness.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
28 Mar. 2026
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And don’t forget the era of over-plucking—ahem, from the currently trending ‘90s—which resulted in super-thin eyebrows that never really fully grew back.—
Ana Morales,
Vogue,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Braves players worked on hustling first to third on a soft single to the outfield, or breaking toward home on a dribbler in the infield.—
Chad Bishop,
AJC.com,
20 Mar. 2026
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Meanwhile, McCutchen walked for the fourth straight game and beat out an infield single, hustling hard to first on a squibber down the third base line.—
Evan Grant,
Dallas Morning News,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Celtics made a push midway through the fourth, ripping off a 9-0 run and holding the Hawks scoreless for more than four straight minutes.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
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The Huskies were more settled in the second half, ripping off a 12-0 run to open the third quarter.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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With nearly all of the 10 million Indians who live in the Gulf sticking it out during the conflict with Iran, efforts by New Delhi to overhaul the rights of its workers abroad are falling short of what is needed, according to the Indian news outlet Scroll.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
30 Mar. 2026
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In Texas, a man was charged after allegedly sticking his camera up the skirt of an agent during a showing.—
Tim Stelloh,
NBC news,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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After beating Atlanta last Friday without Jaylen Brown and Charlotte on Sunday without Brown and Derrick White, Boston flopped in a rematch with the Hawks, losing 112-102 without a crew of contributors headlined by a resting Jayson Tatum.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
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Lawson’s Blue Devils relished their March Madness at the downtown arena on Friday night, a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in the corner by Ashlon Jackson to stun storied LSU in a Sweet 16 contest.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shaking down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shaking%20down. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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