shrug

English

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ʃɹʌɡ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌɡ

Noun

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

• macaroni shrug

Translations

gesture

Belarusian: по́ціск плячы́ма m (pócisk pljačýma) Bulgarian: вди́гане на ра́мене n (vdígane na rámene) Catalan: encongiment d'espatlles m Chinese: Mandarin: 聳肩 / 耸肩 (zh) (sǒngjiān) Danish: skuldertræk (da) n Dutch: schouderophalen (nl) n Esperanto: ŝultromovado sg, ŝultrumado sg Finnish: olankohautus (fi) French: haussement d'épaules m German: Schulterzucken (de) n, Achselzucken (de) n Hungarian: vállrándítás (hu) Italian: spalluccia f Polish: wzruszenie ramionami n Portuguese: encolhida de ombros f, dar de ombros (pt) Russian: пожима́ние плеча́ми n (požimánije plečámi) Scottish Gaelic: crathadh m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: слијегање раменима n Roman: slijeganje ramenima n Spanish: encogimiento de hombros m Swedish: axelryckning (sv) c Ukrainian: зни́зування плечи́ма n (znýzuvannja plečýma)

Verb

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

1. (ambitransitive) 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.

   • 1712 January 13 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, January 2, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 264; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

     He […] shrugs his shoulders when you talk of securities.

     The spelling has been modernized.

Usage notes

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

Derived terms

• shrug off

Translations

to raise the shoulders to express uncertainty, lack of concern, etc.

Arabic: هَزَّ كَتِفَيْن (hazza katifayn) Armenian: թոթվել ուսերը (tʻotʻvel userə) Belarusian: паціска́ць плячы́ма impf (paciskácʹ pljačýma), паці́снуць плячы́ма pf (pacísnucʹ pljačýma) Bulgarian: вди́гам ра́мене impf (vdígam rámene), вди́гна ра́мене pf (vdígna rámene) Catalan: arronsar les espatlles (ca), s'arronsar d'espatlles Chinese: Mandarin: 聳 / 耸 (zh) (sǒng), 聳肩 / 耸肩 (zh) (sǒngjiān) Czech: pokrčit rameny pf Danish: trække på skuldrene Dutch: schouders ophalen, schokschouderen (nl) Esperanto: levi la ŝultrojn, ŝultrumi (eo) Finnish: kohauttaa olkiaan, kohauttaa olkapäitään French: hausser les épaules (fr) German: mit den Schultern zucken (de), mit den Achseln zucken Hebrew: מָשַׁךְ בִּכְתֵפַיִם (mashákh bikhtefáyim) Hungarian: vállat von (hu), megvonja a vállát, vállat rándít Italian: fare spallucce Japanese: 肩を竦める (かたをすくめる, kata o sukumeru), 肩を窄める (かたをすぼめる, kata o subomeru) Korean: 어깨를 으쓱하다 (eokkae-reul eusseukhada) Macedonian: крева раменици impf (kreva ramenici), крене раменици pf (krene ramenici) Maori: hikihiki pakihiwi, hikihiki pakihiwi Persian: شانه بالا انداختن (šâne bâlâ andâxtan) Polish: wzruszać ramionami impf, wzruszyć ramionami pf Portuguese: dar de ombros (pt), encolher os ombros (pt) Romanian: da din umeri Russian: пожима́ть плеча́ми (ru) impf (požimátʹ plečámi), пожа́ть плеча́ми pf (požátʹ plečámi) Scottish Gaelic: (transitive) crath Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: слегнути раменима pf Roman: slegnuti ramenima pf Slovak: pokrčiť plecami pf Slovene: skomigniti z rameni pf Spanish: encogerse de hombros, encoger / alzar los hombros Swedish: rycka på axlarna (sv) Turkish: omuz silkmek (tr) Ukrainian: зни́зувати плечи́ма impf (znýzuvaty plečýma), зниза́ти плечи́ма pf (znyzáty plečýma)

See also

• ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anagrams

• Rughs