shake down

present singular third person shakes down · participle present shaking down · past shook down · participle past shaken down

1. transitiveTo cause something to fall down by shaking it, or something it is attached to.

   shake down apples from an apple tree.

2. transitiveTo shake someone so money falls from their pockets.
3. broadlyslangtransitiveTo extort money from (someone) by means of threats.

   He left after shaking her down for four bits for carrying the bags.

   1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published November 1976, →ISBN, page 16

   2 more examples

   At 58.9K, he'd be handing over practically nine thousand dollars a year to California and to the county for the privilege of being shaken down by these thicknecks.

   1996, Michael Drinkard, Disobedience, page 64

   A United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia has dealt a major blow to Riley Gaines’ efforts to further shake down the NCAA for not discriminating against transgender women hard enough.

   2026 September 29, s. baum, “Riley Gaines' Title IX Lawsuit Against The NCAA Struck Down After Judge Finds "No Evidence" Of Funding Claims”, in Erin in the Morning, retrieved 30 Sep 2026

4. slangtransitiveTo search exhaustively.
5. To subject something to a shakedown test.