to shake out the rug
1
2.0
- phrasal verb
- I need to shake out the rug before the guests arrive.
Examples
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Before guests arrived, she decided to shake out the rug on the porch.
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They shook out the rug outside to get rid of all the dust and crumbs.
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Could you please shake out the rug before putting it back in the living room?
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She shook out the rug on the porch.
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After a long winter, it's time to shake out the rug to get rid of all the dust.
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She decided to shake out the rug before the guests arrived, ensuring it was clean.
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Every spring, we shake out the rug on the porch to remove the accumulated dirt.
Synonyms
841
1.0
To make a room or area free of dirt and tidy by removing mess
107
1.0
To clean a floor or surface by brushing away dirt with a broom
83
1.0
To remove small dry particles from a surface by wiping or brushing
69
1.7
Clean a floor or carpet with a machine that sucks up dirt
19
2.9
Remove dust and crumbs by shaking something
1
2.1
To clean a carpet or floor with a vacuum cleaner
1
4.3
To clean a carpet or floor using a vacuum cleaner
1
2.7
To clean dust and dirt from something using quick movements
1
4.4
To remove dust from rugs by hitting or shaking them
Antonyms
How Clean
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'shake' (to move/vibrate) + 'out' (away/from the interior) + 'rug' (a floor covering), describing the literal action of lifting and shaking to remove dust. This is a common, literal verb+particle+object construction found across languages and everyday contexts, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Shake out the rug comes from a simple household scene: you lift a rug and shake it so dust and crumbs fall out. So, shake out the rug literally means 'to clean' a rug by making the dirt fall out.