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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Beaufort, North Carolina This fishing village with century-old homes, idyllic marinas, and pristine beaches could be plucked from a vintage postcard.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
17 Apr. 2026 -
With its cast of characters essentially plucked from Fugard’s early life in Port Elizabeth, the play introduces Hally (a stand-in for Fugard) at a crossroads.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Schiller is a man who cheated death and whose harrowing ordeal is dramatized by actor Tony Shalhoub in a recent movie.—
Troy Roberts,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
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The chat room was on fire, because Magnus Carlsen had lost to the kid—Hans Niemann—and then implied that Hans had cheated.—
Ben Mezrich,
Vanity Fair,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Sudhir Srivastava, vice president of the Noida Entrepreneurs Association, said manufacturers were being squeezed from multiple directions.—
Mayu Saini,
Footwear News,
17 Apr. 2026
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Bottom line Private credit’s share of overall financing in the US economy has grown, and when that growth slows or stops, small businesses with few other options get squeezed.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Many hospital systems in Connecticut have stopped suing their patients over unpaid bills, stung by criticism about the harm caused by aggressive collection tactics.—
Noam N. Levey,
Hartford Courant,
20 Apr. 2026
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People have reported severe reactions, including anaphylaxis, after being stung by the ant.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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During an interview with The Star on Friday, waiters hustled through the space with plates.—
Jenna Thompson
April 16,
Kansas City Star,
16 Apr. 2026
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The crowd applauded when Rahm took the bag from Garcia and started carrying it himself as caddie Adam Hayes hustled to catch up to the players.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His family said Kearns was standing on solid ground before he was sucked into the drain and got stuck under five feet of floodwaters.—
Adam Thompson,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
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Its first-stage booster made its 18th flight and stuck the landing without issue on the droneship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The third ended with the Hornets’ Coby White beating the buzzer for an 89-83 Charlotte lead entering the fourth.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Apr. 2026
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Xander Bogaerts had three hits and three RBIs, and Mason Miller pitched a perfect ninth inning for the San Diego Padres, who beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight win and ninth in 10 games.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Semi-screwed There’s a world in which Colby was the most screwed over by the rock draw — because Dee and Emily are friends who already played together, and both were aligned with Cirie — but that world is one in which he was not injured and likely limping out of the game anyway.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 Apr. 2026
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A lot of times, much of a Hollywood memoir is someone saying this person screwed me over, this bad thing happened, and so on.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Shook down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shook%20down. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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