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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Sofia Coppola’s cult-favorite (if historically murky-at-best) 2006 film Marie Antoinette plucked the queen from history-book pages and pasted her on contemporary mood boards.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
2 Oct. 2025 -
The kiss cam focused not on the attendees, but on couples plucked from Netflix’s various reality dating shows.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When Swift acts in a way that is seemingly out of character, audiences feel cheated.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
6 Oct. 2025
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The scandal exposed how some wealthy families cheated and bribed to secure spots for their children at elite universities, sparking nationwide outrage over denied opportunities for more deserving students.—
Hanna Park,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Last year’s finals loss stung because the Lynx came so close.—
Ben Pickman,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
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Congressional Democrats feel stung by the mass layoffs and program cuts that followed the last stopgap spending deal in March.—
Ronald J. Hansen,
AZCentral.com,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Meet Nashville's new crime-fighting Clydesdale Metro Nashville mounted patrol officer Michael Douglas squeezed a three-foot-long rubber chicken, producing an increasingly louder and closer screeching sound to try and provoke a 1,700-pound Clydesdale named Ross.—
Laura L. Davis,
Nashville Tennessean,
6 Oct. 2025
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While ultrafast and squeezed light pulses have been separately used for transmitting data, combining them enhances both speed and security.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Without any additional hesitation, McMillian hustled over to the white backdrop to pose alongside Curry.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
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And before the card shop owner from Lexington, Kentucky, could introduce himself to the NBA player, the 6-foot-7 LaRavia hustled over and beat him to it.—
Dan Woike,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Investors and economists are stuck looking to other sources of data for information about the economy.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
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In the meantime, borrowers stuck in the backlog may not be making progress toward loan forgiveness, either under the terms of an IDR plan or through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.—
Annie Nova,
CNBC,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Plus, the buttery-soft Nulu fabric truly cannot be beat, whether you’re headed to yoga or gearing up for a long-haul flight.—
Melony Forcier,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Oct. 2025
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In May 2025, an independent investigation found that African Parks rangers had raped, beat and tortured indigenous people.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Having obvious trouble is Lesley, who put a layer of shortbread under her flapjack, which screwed up the cooking time, which screwed up the decorating time, which left Lesley, well, screwed.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
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And then everyone else beyond those 35 million people also get screwed, because when all of that money gets pulled out of the health care system, prices go up for everyone, hospitals close.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
26 Sep. 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 Oct. 2025.
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