English Meaning & Definitions
Acts of extorting money from someone, typically through intimidation, threats, or the abuse of authority.
- “The small shop owners complained to the police about the frequent shakedowns by local gang members.”
- “The investigation revealed a series of political shakedowns involving city contracts.”
Thorough searches of a person or a place, especially within a prison, to locate hidden contraband.
- “The warden ordered immediate shakedowns of all cells after a weapon was found in the yard.”
- “Routine shakedowns are a standard security measure in high-security facilities.”
Periods of testing or trial runs for a new vehicle, ship, or system to ensure everything is functioning correctly before full operation.
- “The engineers conducted several shakedowns of the prototype before the official launch.”
- “The ship's crew spent weeks on shakedowns in the open sea to identify mechanical flaws.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “shakedowns”.
The term originates from the 19th-century practice of 'shaking down' straw to create a makeshift bed. By the early 20th century, it transitioned into American underworld slang, describing the act of 'shaking' a victim until their money fell out, symbolizing extortion. It also evolved to describe 'shaking out' a room or person during a thorough search for contraband.
Think of shaking a piggy bank upside down to force the money out; that is a shakedown.
Frequently Asked Questions About “shakedowns”
1. What is the meaning of “shakedowns” in English?
In English, shakedowns (noun) is defined as: “Acts of extorting money from someone, typically through intimidation, threats, or the abuse of authority.”.
2. How do you use “shakedowns” in a sentence?
“The small shop owners complained to the police about the frequent shakedowns by local gang members.”
3. What are English synonyms of “shakedowns”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “shakedowns”?
The term originates from the 19th-century practice of 'shaking down' straw to create a makeshift bed. By the early 20th century, it transitioned into American underworld slang, describing the act of 'shaking' a victim until their money fell out, symbolizing extortion. It also evolved to describe 'shaking out' a room or person during a thorough search for contraband.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
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The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.