as in plucked
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shook down
Verb
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An all-star cast plucked from different corners of the pop culture firmament leads Ryan Murphy's All's Fair, a Hulu legal drama about female divorce attorneys who open their own practice.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Nov. 2025 -
Such is life in Marthaland, where homemaking tasks are plucked from the realm of everyday drudgery and elevated to a pure pursuit of excellence.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The tension resurfaced when her sister discovered her partner had cheated again and asked to stay at the poster’s home with both children.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
31 Dec. 2025
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Every town has its nostalgic spots—ice cream shops, deli counters, old-school diners—that seem to have cheated time.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The Panthers squeezed a few end-of-career seasons out of guys such as Dino Ciccarelli and Igor Larionov.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Steamer or Iron When squeezed into a small suitcase, clothes have a tendency to wrinkle.—
Abbey Hudetz,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Tuesday’s loss in Orlando stung a little more for the Miami Heat than the usual December loss during a long 82-game regular season.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
10 Dec. 2025
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But still, some losses have stung harder than others.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
10 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Mountain View Fire Rescue hustled to get to a fire caused by a power pole that blew down.—
Michael Abeyta,
CBS News,
20 Dec. 2025
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My mother—an incredible single mom of four kids—just hustled.—
Sam Reed,
Glamour,
5 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Get live security wait times, so you’re not stuck in a five‑hour shuffle line that’s already happening.—
The Kim Komando Show,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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Sheridan figured out how to format her book, made a cover for it and stuck it on Amazon.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Two teenage girls are charged with kidnapping a teenage boy after allegedly luring him into a basement and beating him for three hours in early November.—
Kyle Werner,
Des Moines Register,
9 Jan. 2026
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Josh Doan scored, Colten Ellis made 30 saves in his first game in a month and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Thursday night to give them 12 victories in their past 13 games.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And, as usual, the people with the fewest resources will get screwed.—
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson,
Time,
4 Nov. 2025
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No matter what Robert does, he’s totally screwed.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
30 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Shook down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shook%20down. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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