the shakes

noun

informal
: a condition in which parts of the body move uncontrollably
He drank too much coffee and got a bad case of the shakes.
The whole experience gave me the shakes.

Examples of the shakes in a Sentence

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Records from the facilities involved showed that the shakes were available to residents and patients, the FDA said. Patrick Smith, NBC News, 24 Feb. 2025 Prairie Farms and distributor Lyons Magnus have recalled the shakes. Katherine Dillinger and Neha Mukherjee, CNN, 24 Feb. 2025

Cite this Entry

“The shakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20shakes. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

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