Thesaurus results for SHAKING DOWN

shaking down

verb

present participle of shake down

as in cheating

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 shaking down On Thursday, Diamantis will be sentenced for crimes associated with shaking down contractors on four school building projects in three municipalities — Hartford, New Britain and and Tolland. — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 14 Sep. 2026 This brainstorm is aimed at shaking down travel booking platforms. — Susan Shelley, Daily News, 13 May 2026 The city hired a second firm to represent Watts, as the city was legally responsible for covering legal judgments against him despite his federal prison sentence for shaking down a drug courier. — Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026 And that’s important, especially as players age, because teams like the Dolphins seize on shaking down injured, or underperforming talent. — Miami Herald, 26 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shaking down

Verb

The attack on Hugging Face was then part of an elaborate attempt to evade being caught cheating.

— Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Educators raise concerns about cognitive offloading and easy access to cheating.

— Kiryn Hoffman, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of cheating

Verb

Democrats have hammered on meat as well, but mainly just as one of the staples that cost more under Trump, squeezing voters’ pocketbooks.

— Nicholas Riccardi, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026
Democrats have hammered on meat as well, but mainly just as one of the staples that cost more under Trump, squeezing voters' pocketbooks.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of squeezing

Verb

That money has been transformed into frequent online and television ads either stinging or lauding the two candidates.

— John Aguilar, Denver Post, 7 Oct. 2026
Indy struggled against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in its season opener, then took a stinging 33-30 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

— Elise Devlin, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of stinging

Verb

LLMs are great at finding blowups that exist—at searching the infinite landscape of fluid scenarios and plucking out the precise situation that breaks the equations.

— Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026
Fortunately, many dahlia insect problems in September can be solved by walking through the garden in the morning and plucking the offending insects off the plants by hand, then dropping them into a container of soapy water.

— Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of plucking

Verb

That urgency has marked Holden’s prolific output—especially the thrilling first installment of his Supreme Magnetic series in 2025 and 2022’s Joe Frog—as the Harlem rapper uses his street-hustling past to paint an autobiographical portrait.

— Matthew Ritchie, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
The 30-second teaser sees Jackson hustling around town, making money and recruiting his team of crooks.

— Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of hustling

Verb

The basic set-up, for years, was just a comic ripping off a joke and performing it on stage; the infamous mid-2000s Comedy Store stand-off between Joe Rogan and alleged joke thief Carlos Mencia is one of the most famous examples.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
More telling is the Gators generated just six runs of at least 10 yards during back-to-back losses after ripping off 13 of them during two SEC wins.

— Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of ripping off

Verb

The day rewards curiosity more than sticking stubbornly to the original plan.

— Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2026
The priority the remainder of the year must be personnel evaluation, so sticking a full 17 games with Austin Jackson - who seems unlikely to be back next season - would be denying the front office and coaching staff a chance to see other players.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of sticking

Verb

Prosecutors claimed Davis acted out of revenge for Shakur and his crew previously beating on Orlando Anderson, Davis’ nephew.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
Heavy winds, beating sun and wide, open spaces give the area plentiful access to cheap green energy and land.

— Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of beating

Browse Nearby Words

shaking a leg

shaking down

shaking (off)

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“Shaking down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shaking%20down. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of shaking down

verb

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