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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Over at Azur on Luminara, the menu reinvents itself every two days to mirror the port of call, like someone plucked the best taverna dishes off the coast and casually plated them in front of you.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 Feb. 2026 -
This is ideal for decades of sliding across the ice, because bigger mineral grains are more likely to get plucked out by the ice, leaving holes in the surface that could cause unpredictable behavior.—
Andrea Thompson,
Scientific American,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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To sum up the series finale’s key moments, in the college timeline, Bree (Cat Missal), in a rage of anger after finding out that Lucy (Grace Van Patten) was the person Evan (Branden Cook) had cheated with, releases the tape of Lucy admitting to lying about being raped.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
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Ustyugov was also a part of the Russian relay team that won the gold medal in the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and was found to have cheated ahead of that season as well.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In an ecosystem squeezed by the brutal economics of streaming and the continuing struggles of the theatrical model, far too many worthy films go unsold and unseen.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
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Tens of billions of dollars in corporate loans are likely to default over the next year as companies, especially software and data services firms owned by private equity, get squeezed by the AI threat, Mish said in a Wednesday research note.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Cowboys have also reiterated that the loss of Jourdan Lewis stung them this season.—
Joseph Hoyt,
Dallas Morning News,
16 Feb. 2026
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Further down the supply chain, former Army Ranger Patrick Montgomery, who runs KC Cattle Company, located outside Kansas City, Missouri, has been stung by high prices.—
Enda Curran,
Fortune,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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His attacker, the man in black, was hustled off the stage.—
Anderson Cooper,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
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As the lights came up, Taylor had already been hustled out, as had Arnaud.—
Eve Batey,
Vanity Fair,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Like that film and the rest of her oeuvre, her latest is another tender tale of a protagonist stuck between two worlds, a hallmark motif fitting for a director who splits her time between documentary and fiction filmmaking.—
Lé Baltar,
IndieWire,
17 Feb. 2026
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The rescue took place in the area of Branford Point where crews responded on the report of a goose possibly in distress and stuck in the ice, according to the Branford Professional Firefighters IAFF 2533.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Liam Gagne recorded 24 saves and Billerica rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat Milton 3-2 in the first round of the Irish American Shootout.—
Kristina Banahan,
Boston Herald,
18 Feb. 2026
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Skincare delivered €551 million in sales and represented 11% of the group’s full-year revenue, beating market expectations.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Vogue,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Was Tony Kiritsis really screwed out of a legitimate business deal?—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
5 Feb. 2026
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Basically, our government helped the rich get richer while working families got screwed.—
Ana María Archila,
New York Daily News,
30 Jan. 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 19 Feb. 2026.
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