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
Russia has jailed a top defense official, the fourth in a month, state media reported on Thursday, expanding President Vladimir V. Putin’s biggest shake-up of his military leadership since the invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 23 May 2024 That shake-up threatens to undercut Apple’s own lucrative in-house payment system, which generates billions of dollars annually through commissions ranging from 15% to 30% of the purchase amount on digital transactions completed within iPhone apps. Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 23 May 2024 McConnell easily defeated him, but Scott did earn a groundswell of support from members on the right of the conference eager to see a major shake-up to the way the conference functions. Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 22 May 2024 Appeasing Putin Won’t Work This is also Putin’s biggest political shake-up since 2020, when then-prime minister Dmitry Medvedev was pushed aside to make way for technocrat Mikhail Mishustin, who is staying on alongside Foreign Minister and veteran diplomat Sergei Lavrov. Bloomberg News, TIME, 13 May 2024 This transition comes at a time when Humana has seen significant shake-up at the company. Olivia Evans, The Courier-Journal, 13 May 2024 Places to gather Despite shake-ups among retailers, Baltimore-area commercial brokers still are seeing strong activity and demand in the retail sector. Lorraine Mirabella, Baltimore Sun, 15 Mar. 2024 The decision sparked outrage and several days of protests on campus, prompting another unexpected shake-up days later: the cancellation of a keynote speaker for the first time since 1942. Jocelyn Gecker and Steve Leblanc, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Apr. 2024 Then there was a management shake-up when GM announced its Executive Vice President of Global of Manufacturing and Sustainability Gerald Johnson, 61, is retiring after 44 years with GM. Detroit Free Press, 23 Apr. 2024
Verb
Namely, how will the possibility of the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders shake up a seven-month war, a hostage crisis, and a growing famine? Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 May 2024 Last month, in an apparent attempt to address employee complaints, the company shook up local management, appointing Federico Kochlowski as chief executive of the German company’s U.S. unit. Jack Ewing, New York Times, 17 May 2024 Carter has shaken up a homeless policy long marked by bureaucratic infighting, budgetary battles and competing strategies. Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2024 Additionally, the years-long trial-and-error processes to find the right products and routine for my curls isn’t worth shaking up at this big age. Akili King, Essence, 16 May 2024 For laughs, watch Eddie Murphy's wise-cracking cop shake up Southern California once more in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Want to get, uh, swept up in adventure? Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 4 May 2024 Contestants will couple up and test a potential spark through compatibility challenges, which grant the winners an opportunity to bring in new singles to shake up the competition. Brendan Le, Peoplemag, 8 May 2024 Read the Herald’s Miami Dysfunction series Residents, shake up this city and demand a larger commission That landslide win Mayor Suarez brags about? Joey Flechas, Miami Herald, 7 May 2024 Could another entrant shake up the duopoly, as Tesla did for autos? David McHugh, Fortune Europe, 6 May 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 28 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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!