Meanings
plural shake-ups
- alternativeAlternative spelling of shakeup.
The GWML is now electrified - and from early next year, Intercity Express Trains will be able to run from London-Cardiff Central completely on electric power. That will enable the biggest timetable shake-up since 1976.
2019 December 18, Richard Clinnick, “Railway's 2020 vision”, in Rail, page 31 more example
"This shocking report proves once again that we urgently need a radical shake-up of hospital care," said Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society. "Given that people with dementia occupy a quarter of hospital beds and that many leave in worse health than when they were admitted, it is unacceptable that training in dementia care is not the norm."
2011 December 16, Denis Campbell, “Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients'”, in Guardian
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe imposition of a new organization; organizing differently (often involving extensive and drastic changes)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Deverbal from shake up.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
shake-up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shake-up
“shake-up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shake-up. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shake-up,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shake-up.
Source: shake-up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.