Meaning
- Shake up means to cause a sudden change, shock, or disturbance in a situation, organization, or a person’s feelings.
- It can also mean to reorganize or restructure something drastically.
Grammar and Usage
- Part of speech: Phrasal verb
- Transitive: Needs an object (e.g., They decided to shake up the team).
- Intransitive (less common): Can be used without an object when context is clear (e.g., The news really shook up).
Patterns:
- shake up + noun (to reorganize or disturb something)
- be shaken up (by/from) (passive voice to describe being emotionally disturbed or shocked)
Common Phrases
- shake up the system
- shake up the industry
- shake up the company
- shaken up by the news
Collocations
- Verb + noun: shake up the organization, shake up the government
- Adjective + noun: major shake-up, sudden shake-up
- Passive forms: be shaken up by an accident, be shaken up after an event
Examples
- The new CEO promised to shake up the company with bold reforms.
- The accident really shook her up, and she needed a few days to recover.
- The government announced a plan to shake up the education system.
- He was shaken up by the shocking news.
- The coach decided to shake up the team’s lineup before the big match.
- The scandal shook up the entire community.
- The industry needs a major shake-up to stay competitive.
- She looked visibly shaken up after the argument.
Synonyms or Related
- disrupt
- overhaul
- reorganize
- startle
- unsettle
Antonym
- stabilize
- calm down
- settle
- maintain