Shake

How to spell shake

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce shake

What does shake mean?

1. verbTo move something back and forth or up and down with quick, short movements.
2. nounA thick cold drink made from milk and flavouring blended together.

Shake in a sentence

• verb

  The strong wind began to shake the windows in their frames.

• noun

  She ordered a chocolate shake with her burger and fries.

• verb

  Nerves can make your hands shake before a big presentation.

• noun

  The cafe blends a fresh banana shake every morning.

Where does shake come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word descends from the Old English verb sceacan, meaning to move something quickly back and forth, to brandish, or to depart. It belongs to a wider Germanic family, with cousins in Old Norse skaka and Old Saxon skakan, all sharing the sense of vigorous to-and-fro motion. Over the centuries the harsh consonant cluster at the start softened, and the verb settled into its modern spelling with the silent final 'e' marking the long vowel. From the simple physical idea of trembling or rattling, English extended the word into many figurative uses, such as shaking off a worry or a shake of the head. By the twentieth century it had also become a casual noun for a thick blended milk drink, a sense that arose from the way the ingredients were shaken together.

How the word is built

• shake (from Old English sceacan: to move quickly to and fro)

Words that sound like shake

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• sheikh: An Arab tribal, family, or religious leader, or a man of high rank in certain Muslim societies.