shook
adjective · noun · verb
Simple meaning
Shaken up; rattled.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
shuukIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈʃʊk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
slang
Shaken up; rattled; shocked or surprised.
slang
Emotionally upset or disturbed; scared.
noun
A set of pieces for making a cask or box, usually wood.
The parts of a piece of house furniture, as a bedstead, packed together.
verb
To pack (staves, etc.) in a shook.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Shaken up; rattled; shocked or surprised.
Used this way, shook is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Very casual
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Playful
- Usage feel
- Playful and informal
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Usage note
Slang: natural in speech and messages between friends, but out of place in school, work or published writing.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use shook
- “He shook the can of soda for thirty seconds before delivering it to me, so that, when I popped it open, soda went everywhere.”verb
- “She shook with grief.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “shook” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.