shook down

verb

past tense of shake down
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shook down Bernthal played the real-life Baltimore policeman Wayne Jenkins, who led a crew of officers who shook down people for cash and drugs. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shook down
  1. plucked
  2. cheated
  3. squeezed
  4. stung
  5. hustled
  6. stuck
  7. beat
  8. screwed
Verb
  • He was plucked out of retirement to take on the demanding role of helping in the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Doubs plucked the ball over Gonzalez, who had successfully backed him near the boundary but couldn’t box out the 6-foot-2 receiver entirely.
    — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of plucked
Verb
  • Not to be cheated in front of the largest assembly of Hall of Famers since the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, Schwarber flew out twice to deep center field.
    — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Bo told Lu that if the audit produced evidence that he had been cheated, Wang should go to prison.
    — Hailey Wang, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of cheated
Verb
  • Silver is now in its fifth straight year of structural deficit, squeezed by solar, electric vehicles, and the hardware powering AI.
    — Rob Kaplan, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Affordability does not improve when Washington adds trillions to the debt while working families are still getting squeezed.
    — Terry Collins, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of squeezed
Verb
  • Spray the nest from a distance to reduce the chances of being stung.
    — Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • More than 3,100 people have been stung at Bolsa Chica and Huntington State Beach so far this year, which is at least double last year's total.
    — Michele Gile, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of stung
Verb
  • Hate crime charges have been filed against a man who disrupted Shabbat services in Manhattan's Central Synagogue and struck two people while being hustled outside Friday night.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Hong’s early capture of the data-center issue, which was not especially ideological, is a good example of how consistently the Party’s much larger traditional wing has been out-hustled.
    — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of hustled
Verb
  • While steeped in a ton of history, York is anything but stuck in the past.
    — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Aug. 2026
  • You could be stuck at one weight on a leg exercise for a week because of a limited range of motion.
    — Jesse Newell, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of stuck
Verb
  • Exports were the main driver of growth, with shipments from the country beating expectations for all three months of the quarter.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Bruno Damiani scored his first two goals of the season, 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan had two assists and the Philadelphia Union rallied from two goals down to beat New York City FC 3-2 on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium.
    — CBS New York Team, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of beat
Verb
  • The hardest physical part was actually taking down the old blinds, which had been screwed tightly into the window frame years prior.
    — Scott Kramer, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • But the war needs to end because every day that the war continues, America gets weaker, Iran gets stronger, and people here in the United States get screwed, as prices go up, and up and up.
    — NBC news, NBC news, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of screwed

Browse Nearby Words

shook a leg
shook down
shook (off)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shook down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shook%20down. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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