Wiktionary

shrug

English

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A person wearing a shrug, highlighted in pink

Etymology

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From Middle English schruggen, shrukken, probably of North Germanic origin related to Danish skrugge, skrukke (“to stoop; crouch”), Swedish skruga, skrukka (“to huddle; crouch”), all from or related to Old Norse skrykkva, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. Compare also Old English scrincan (“to shrink”). More at shrink.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /ʃɹʌɡ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌɡ

Noun

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shrug (plural shrugs)

  1. A lifting of the shoulders to signal indifference or a casual lack of knowledge.
    He dismissed my comment with a shrug.
  2. A cropped, cardigan-like garment with short or long sleeves, typically knitted.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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shrug (third-person singular simple present shrugs, present participle shrugging, simple past and past participle shrugged)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To raise (the shoulders) to express uncertainty, lack of concern, (formerly) dread, etc.
    I asked him for an answer and he just shrugged.
    When he saw the problem, he just shrugged and started fixing it.

Usage notes

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The word "shrug" and "shrug one's shoulders" have the same meaning.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Anagrams

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