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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The Minimalist The latest crop of sleek, minimal leather jackets feel plucked from Gwyneth Paltrow in the 90s, in the best possible way.—
Christina Holevas,
Vogue,
3 Sep. 2025 -
There were no stoves in the cabins, so Huse plucked native oranges off the trees to make everyone freezer pies.—
Gabrielle Calise,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Passed over to his hapless son (Dacre Montgomery), our (anti-)hero wires a shotgun to his head and takes him hostage, claiming that the organization’s business maneuvers cheated him out of a substantial fortune.—
Radhika Seth,
Vogue,
5 Sep. 2025
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The woman lives alone, AFP added, citing local media outlets, and was ultimately cheated out of approximately 1 million yen, or about $6,700.—
Jillian Frankel,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Sherry recalls one instance that stung in particular, when a friend pointed out his hair loss at a social gathering.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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None stung more than the second inning, when Freddie Freeman led off with a single against Pirates rookie Braxton Ashcraft.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The shakeups are the latest at a time when restaurants are squeezed between a labor shortage, rising food prices and a loss of customers as diners cut back on spending.—
Bud Kennedy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Sep. 2025
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For now, the three youngest each sleep in their own pack-and-plays squeezed into their parents’ bedroom.—
Jeff Truesdell,
People.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Farnaz Farjam, one of the show’s executive producers, told Deadline that the production hustled to find a way to capture all three elements.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
1 Sep. 2025
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The band hustled to build their social-media accounts, play shows, and produce a new EP.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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This was the case for me, as a freshman who was secretly stuck in a cycle of binge eating and restriction but whose outer appearance didn’t change.—
Mallary Tenore Tarpley,
Time,
5 Sep. 2025
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And that has stuck pretty much ever since.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Treasury was expected to provide a list by October 2, 2025—the preliminary list, while not yet official, beat that deadline.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
4 Sep. 2025
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The under-19s were beaten by Stuttgart in the first knockout round of the UEFA Youth League, while the under-21s ended up 16th in Premier League 2.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Bill Skarsgård stars as Kiritsis, a societal outcast who feels he’s been screwed over by the powers that be.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
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There's a channel that runs down the bottom of the down tube that the cables sit in, held in place by a plastic cover that's screwed onto the frame.—
JOHN TIMMER,
ArsTechnica,
12 Aug. 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 9 Sep. 2025.
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