shake-up

1 of 2

noun

: an act or instance of shaking up
specifically : an extensive and often drastic reorganization

shake up

2 of 2

verb

shook up; shaken up; shaking up; shakes up

transitive verb

1
obsolete : chide, scold
2
: to jar by or as if by a physical shock
the collision shook up both drivers
3
: to effect an extensive and often drastic reorganization of

Examples of shake-up in a Sentence

Verb the news that we had failed the auto inspection shook us up
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The town council is set to have a shake-up with two new members and a new mayor next year. Maritza Dominguez, The Arizona Republic, 17 Apr. 2024 The departure of Nick Shipley may be part of a greater shake-up spearheaded by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s new CEO, John Crowley, who took over in December. Rachel Cohrs Zhang and John Wilkerson, STAT, 10 Apr. 2024 Hathaway said a staff shake-up at the Republican National Committee would not change the Republican National Convention program. Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2024 Choudhry’s departure comes just six months after a big shake-up of Xbox leadership and amid continued changes to Microsoft’s gaming strategy. Tom Warren, The Verge, 5 Apr. 2024 Someone who’s part of the old regime is the wrong choice for delivering the jarring shake-up required. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024 Charlotte’s changing grocery store scene Store expansions continue to shake-up where Charlotte supermarket customers shop. Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 1 Apr. 2024 The hiring of Suleyman is a key admission that something wasn’t working out with the Windows and AI shake-up from six months ago. Tom Warren, The Verge, 28 Mar. 2024 The political shake-up addressed widespread international pressure as well as broad apathy and discontent with the Palestinian Authority, which was set up after the 1993 Oslo accords to administer the Palestinian territories. Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
Verb
The Owen/Cox Dance Company shakes up the revered holiday classic like a snow globe with hard-to-describe but delightful music by Brad Cox and clever, demanding and quirky choreography by Jennifer Owen. Patrick Neas, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2024 Lowery was shaken up by the assault but not injured. Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Apr. 2024 With Uranus meeting Jupiter, an unexpected development may shake up your ties. USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024 His company is shaking up the traditional approach to creating film and TV adaptations by putting the power in the hands of fans. Katcy Stephan, Variety, 18 Apr. 2024 The industry’s still shaken up from the pandemic, attempting to recover its pre-lockdown audiences and keep them coming. Juan A. Ramírez, Vogue, 18 Apr. 2024 Fleming also said in his email that the cafeteria was crowded at the time and many students who saw the incident were shaken up. David Chiu, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024 Boeing has shaken up its executive ranks in an effort to address criticism. Lori Aratani, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024 Sunday’s reports of a shooting at Dolphin Mall come a day after people were shaken up while hanging out at another Miami-Dade shopping center this weekend. Rebecca San Juan, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shake-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1847, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shake-up was in 1538

Dictionary Entries Near shake-up

Cite this Entry

“Shake-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shake-up. Accessed 1 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

shake-up

1 of 2 noun
ˈshā-ˌkəp
: an act or instance of shaking up
especially : a reorganization that has extreme effects
lost their jobs in an office shake-up

shake up

2 of 2 verb
(ˈ)shā-ˈkəp
1
: to jar by or as if by a physical shock
the accident shook up both drivers
the news shook us up
2
: to bring about an extensive reorganization of

More from Merriam-Webster on shake-up

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