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shakedown

1 8.2

A careful search by police of a person or place

noun
/ˈʃeɪkˌdaʊn/

Jargon

: registro

Things tensed up more than usual in the camp when rumors of the shakedown were confirmed.

Examples

Each inmate's cell was inspected during the prison shakedown after the escape attempt.
The police conducted a thorough shakedown of the building to ensure no contraband was hidden inside.
You will then return to your housing unit until such time as the shakedown team arrives.

Fiction book (1997)
Every person and every vehicle going through the gates is subject to a thorough shakedown.

American Gangster (2007)
In Illinois, the shakedowns are called "fetchers" bills.

Academic text (1997)
THE REST WAS CONFISCATED IN THE LAST SHAKEDOWN.

The Great Escape (1963)
Security personnel performed a detailed shakedown of the passengers before boarding the flight.

Synonyms

to strip-search

vsshakedown

NSFW

14 6.8

To make someone take off clothes so police can check for hidden weapons or drugs

is a thorough search that can target places and need not involve removing clothing

bodycheck

vsshakedown

5.8

A physical search of a person's body or clothes to find dangerous items

is a more thorough search of person or place than a simple pat-down

How Thorough

strip search

NSFW

10 6.1

shakedown

Jargon

1 8.2

∞ 1.0

frisk

NSFW

9 7.5

pat-down

47 4.9

Surface Forms

shakedown singular

shakedowns plural

Morphology

shakedown = shake + down (semi-transparent) = shake + down

The 'search' sense extends from the physical idea of 'shaking down' someone or somewhere to find concealed items; the relation is inferable though somewhat idiomatic.

Etymology

Shakedown here comes from the idea of shake + down, like shaking pockets or a room so hidden things drop out. So a shakedown means a careful search of a person or place to find hidden items.