shake up

shake someone or something up

to jostle or knock someone or something around; to toss someone or something back and forth. We rode over a rough road, and that shook us up. The accident shook up John quite a bit.

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shake someone up

to shock or upset someone. The sight of the injured man shook me up. Your rude remark really shook up Tom.

See also: shake, up

shake something up 

1. Lit. to shake a container to mix its contents together well. Please shake this up before using it. I shook up the medicine bottle like it says on the label.

2. Fig. to reorganize a group or organization, not always in a gentle way. The new manager shook the office up and made things run a lot better. The coach shook the team up before the last game and made them better organized.

See also: shake, up

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shake up somebody also shake somebody up

to upset someone The kids were pretty shaken up by the accident. Patrick's death shook me up pretty badly.

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shake up something also shake something up

to cause big changes in a situation or organization The company announced that it would shake up top management and cut 1,000 jobs. Every new boss likes to shake things up a bit when they take over.

See also: shake, up