Meanings
shakes1
- pluralplural of shake
- pluralplural onlyslangusuallyDelirium tremens; typically due to alcohol withdrawal.
If I don't get a drink soon, I'll get the shakes.
- colloquialpluralplural onlyusuallyA pattern of behavior including twitches, tics and spasms typical of withdrawal from addiction.
[Recovering video game addicts] also have sleep disorders, the shakes and numbness in their hands. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/05/china_net_addicts/
1 more example
When researchers either stopped the diet or administered an opioid blocker, the rats showed signs common to drug withdrawal, such as teeth-chattering and the shakes. http://apu.sfn.org/index.cfm?pagename=brainBriefings_sugarAddiction
- colloquialpluralplural onlyusuallyA fit of trembling or shivering.
"I remember having the shakes sometimes and thinking 'why am I doing this?', and then remembering the vision. Very few of us were extroverts and happy to go on stage.
2022 January 12, Adeline Ginn talks to Stefanie Foster, “A fantastic pool of female talent”, in RAIL, number 948, page 33
- indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of shake
Shakes2
- pluralplural of Shake
Translations
Spanish tembleque
- temblequeTranslations
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with shakes
All rhymes →Cite this entry
shakes. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shakes
“shakes.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shakes. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shakes,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shakes.
Source: shakes on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.