The Phrasal Verb 'Shake Off' Explained
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'shake off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native.
This post is all about the phrasal verb 'shake off'. I'm sure many of you will know this one already thanks to a very famous Taylor Swift song, and it is a great phrasal verb for talking about things that we no longer want in our lives anymore. However, do you know all of its different meanings and the situations in which we use them? In this post, I will explain all of these for you and, as per usual, will provide you with lots of example sentences to show you how to use it in natural English. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'shake off' is all about....
QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'shake off' mean?The phrasal verb 'shake off' has four main meanings in English....
Continue reading to learn more about each meaning! |
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one
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THE BASICS
SHAKE OFF: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 4 |
Simple past form | Shook off |
Past participle | Shaken off |
Separable? | Yes |
As many of you know by now, I like to start each of my posts with a short section to get familiar with the component words of the phrasal verb that I am explaining, so let's now consider the words 'shake' and 'off'....
Shake - 'To shake' is a fairly common irregular verb in English whose main meaning is to move something quickly and repeatedly for a period of time. This is typically up and down, left and right or a combination of all directions. When used transitively with a direct object, it is possible to shake something by moving it in this way, such as a barman shaking a cocktail or two people shaking each other's hands when meeting. It is also common to hear being used in an intransitive way to say that something shakes when the cause is not known or specified; this could be a building in an earthquake or a person who is nervous or scared.
In addition to this, some less common meanings of the verb 'to shake' include 'to make something less secure or certain', 'to make someone feel worried' and 'to escape from someone' (more of this last one to come later).
You need to shake the drink before you open it.
My voice shook as I was giving the speech.
John shook his father in law's hand.
The ground shook violently during the earthquake.
That incident has really shaken my confidence.
Do you think we've managed to shake the police?
Off - The particle 'off' is one of the most commonly found particles in phrasal verb constructions and can add a variety of different ideas, depending on the context.
Perhaps the two most relevant ideas that 'off' can add to phrasal verbs are 'separation', where one thing is physically detached from another (rip off, come off, pull off), and 'removal', where the idea is to get rid of something (wipe off, take off, brush off).
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'shake off'....
MEANING 1: To physically remove something by shaking
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To dislodge, to remove |
Separable? | Yes |
The first of our phrasal verb meanings is the literal meaning of the combination of the two words and is simply 'to physically remove something by shaking'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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If you've ever owned a dog or spent a lot of time with one, it is likely that you will have suffered the misfortune of standing too close to one after it has been swimming and it then tries to remove the water from its fur by shaking. In other words, we can say in this situation that "the dog is shaking off the water". This has happened to me a lot over the years but I really don't mind because I love dogs.
This dog situation is a great example of how we can combine these two words to describe how you can shake something so that it is no longer on you. This usage is not limited to when something unwanted is on a person or animal though; we can also use it for situations in which something is attached to, or is resting on, a surface and we want to remove it through a shaking action rather than physically touching it with our hands.
On a grammatical note, this is a transitive usage and is separable. Moreover, it is possible to use the construction 'to shake something off something' when specifying the surface from which the thing is removed.
Example sentences....
Natalie shook the sand off her towel before putting it in her bag.
Mike shook the snow off his coat before entering the house.
The bird tried to shake the raindrops off.
I shook the crumbs off the tablecloth in the garden.
My mum shook the dust off the old blanket.
The children shook the mud off their boots before going inside the house.
The pastry chef shook the excess flour off the piece of chicken.
The horse will shake off any flies that try to land on its back.
He had to shake the water off his hands because there was no towel available.
For those of you who are more visual learners, here is a video of exactly what I am talking about with the dog....
MEANING 2: To recover from an illness
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To get rid of |
Separable? | Yes |
We are going to move away from the literal idea of physically shaking something now as this second meaning of the phrasal verb 'shake off' is 'to recover from an illness'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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Have you ever had one of those really annoying colds that last for weeks and just seem to linger and linger? If you have, you could definitely tell your English-speaking friends and colleagues that you "cannot shake it off" as this is precisely the type of situation in which we use this application of it.
Generally speaking, when the symptoms of a cold, a cough, the flu or other type of minor infection do not go away for a long time, it is common for English speakers to say that "they just can't shake it off". The idea with this is that the illness or virus that the person has is one that they would normally expect to recover from and so 'shake off' is used in situations when the illness lasts longer than expected or is difficult to get rid of.
Additionally, you may also hear people talking about actions that they are planning to take in order to recover from the illness, or shake it off.
In some cases, people can use 'shake off' in this way just to talk about getting rid of an illness, without the focus on it havig lasted for a long time. For example, if you come down with a cold on a Wednesday and have big plans for the upcoming weekend, you might say that you need to shake off the cold by Saturday as you don't want it to ruin your plans.
Example sentences....
I've had this cold for two weeks now and I just can't seem to shake it off.
Elspeth finally managed to shake off the flu after spending a week in bed.
He's been struggling to shake off a nasty cough for several weeks now.
I thought I'd finally shaken off this awful virus, but I'm starting to feel ill again.
Despite getting plenty of rest, Lydia couldn't shake off the infection.
It took my friend almost a month to completely shake off the illness.
I'm hoping that a few days of rest will help me shake off this cold.
Pam's still trying to shake off the lingering effects of the flu.
Jonny managed to shake off a stomach bug just in time for his holiday.
MEANING 3: To escape from someone
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To throw off, to evade |
Separable? | Yes |
Let's move on to our third meaning of the phrasal verb 'shake off' now and this one is another one that describes the action of getting rid of something unwanted, which in this case is someone who is following you.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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Hopefully, this application is one that you won't really need to use to describe your own personal experience but it may be one that you will need if you are talking in English about a movie or a TV show that you have watched.
The core concept behind this application of 'shake off' is that you manage to lose or get away from someone or something that is following you.
This may be the police, it may be a criminal or it may even be a big scary monster. Regardless of who or what, the main idea is to get far enough away from them or do something unexpected, like hiding, so that they are no longer able to follow you. A bit like the persistent illness that I explained in the previous section, this one is commonly used when the pursuer is persistent or particularly difficult to get away from, or that escaping from them requires some effort. It is common to use verbs like 'manage', 'try' and 'attempt' with it.
Example sentences....
The thief managed to shake off the police after a high-speed chase through the city.
Linda took several wrong turns in an attempt to shake off the man who was following her.
The suspect shook off his pursuers by disappearing into a crowded shopping centre.
No matter how fast he ran, James Bond couldn't shake off the agents chasing him.
The getaway driver managed to shake off the police by taking a narrow side street.
Astrid realised that someone was following her and tried to shake them off.
The escaped prisoner shook off the guards and disappeared into the forest.
The celebrity struggled to shake off the photographers who followed him everywhere.
The fox managed to shake off the hunting dogs by crossing a stream.
MEANING 4: To get rid of something negative
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To get rid of |
Separable? | Yes |
For the fourth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'shake off', we are very much staying with the same idea that we have been discussing throughout the post as this one means 'to get rid of something negative'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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With this final application, we are focussing on unwanted feelings, ideas and associations rather than physical objects or people. As with the other figurative meanings of 'shake off' that I've covered in the post, this one can also carry the idea that the negative thing is persistent, difficult to get rid of or lasts longer than we want or expect it to.
For example, you may have had a completely irrational worry about something or an instinctive dislike of a person for a long time and, whatever you do, you cannot get rid of the feeling. In this instance, you could say that you are unable to "shake off the feeling". The same could be said for doubts and bad habits when you need to overcome something internally.
Moreover, we can also use this for the feelings and opinions that other people hold about you, such as someone suspecting that you committed a crime, or a rumour about something that you are alleged to have done. In this sense, the idea is that you try to free yourself from these negative opinions or beliefs that others hold.
Example sentences....
I couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was watching me.
Debbie tried to shake off her sadness and enjoy the party.
Alex struggled to shake his doubts about the new business venture off.
Despite his efforts to change, Craig couldn't shake off his bad reputation.
The city has finally shaken off its reputation as a dangerous place to live.
I've been trying to shake off the habit of checking my phone first thing in the morning.
The company has been unable to shake off allegations of unfair working practices.
The actor tried to shake off rumours about his personal life.
Despite repeated denials, the company couldn't shake off rumours of financial difficulties.
I mentioned it at the beginning of the post and so to end it, here is the video of Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. This is a great example of this final application being used as the lyrics are about not allowing other people's criticism and judgement to affect you.
We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'shake off' more confidently and naturally.
Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'shake off' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media.
Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills?Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... |
Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊
THE END
Very informative. Thank you.