to shrug
- verb
- /ʃrʌg/
- And you just say, well, shrug, and maybe you'd best say I'm sorry and you walk away.
- shrug one's shoulders
- shrug and say
As for the listener, you just shrugged lightly with a Zen like look on your face.
- As for the listener, you just shrugged lightly with a Zen like look on your face.
- It doesn't matter what they say, Scott, like Oakley was like, fine and shrugged his shoulders.
- I ask him why when I'm making dinner and he shrugs.
- You may give a sort of rueful post karmic chuckle, but beyond that you kind of just shrug and keep going.
- I mean, there's a lot of things in my life right now where I shrug my shoulders and go, OK, Yep, it's OK.
- So anthropomorphism clearly does go on the but just because it goes on, that doesn't mean we have to like shrug our shoulders and walk away.
Examples
-
Jamie shrugs or says "I don't know" more and more often when called on in class.
Academic text (2014) -
And then the teachers just kind of shrug it off.
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You see it and you shrug and think, yeah, why not, why not?
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Just shrug them off and save yourself.
-
The other is to shrug, accept it, and get involved in school activities.
Academic text (1993) -
Boys will often point or shrug to communicate their thoughts.
Academic text (2008) -
Sometimes I get discouraged, depressed, but you got to shrug it off.
-
When asked if doctors are still marrying nurses, many nurses shrug and say, "No, they marry other doctors."
Academic text (2002) -
Adcox and Grindle shrug and pull their helmets down tight, expecting the worst.
Fiction book (1991) -
When asked why he was late, he just shrugged and said he lost track of time.
Antonyms
Phrasal Verbs
How Expressive
- Informal
Surface Forms
Etymology
Shrug (verb) probably comes from an old word like shrink that meant 'to pull together' or 'to contract', which gives a clear picture of making your shoulders smaller. So to shrug is to raise and lower your shoulders in a small, pulling movement to show you do not know or do not care.