shrug

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈʃrʌg/ UK /ʃɹʌɡ/ See IPA manual

Freq #28701

Meanings

1

verb
To raise your shoulders to show that you do not know or do not care.

I asked him for an answer and he just shrugged.
2

noun
The act of raising your shoulders to show indifference or uncertainty.

He dismissed my comment with a shrug.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with shrug

shrug off Phrasal verb B2

to dismiss something as unimportant or refuse to be troubled by it

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms shruggedshruggingshrugs

Derived forms shruggershruggieshruggy

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

shrug off
to dismiss something as unimportant or refuse to be troubled by it

Verb + adverb

Etymology

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.

schruggen Middle English skrykkva Old Norse *skrinkwaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# shrug

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈʃrʌg/
**IPA (UK):** /ʃɹʌɡ/
**Frequency rank:** 28701

## Meanings
1. To raise your shoulders to show that you do not know or do not care.
2. The act of raising your shoulders to show indifference or uncertainty.

## Examples
- I asked him for an answer and he just shrugged.
- He dismissed my comment with a shrug.

## Derived Forms
- shrugger
- shruggie
- shruggy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: schruggen
- Root: skrykkva
- Root: *skrinkwaną

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Shrug is 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. Important forms in the word's history include Middle English schruggen, Old Norse skrykkva, Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. In current use it includes senses such as To raise your shoulders to show that you do not know or do not care and The act of raising your shoulders to show indifference or uncertainty.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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