the movers and shakers

a mover and a shaker

A person who is able to get things done with their power, influence, or money. She thinks her father can get me into law school. Apparently he's quite a mover and a shaker. The conference is going to be full of movers and shakers of the industry, so I want to make a good impression. This investor is real mover and a shaker, so, if he signs on with us, he could really get our business off the ground.

See also: and, mover, shaker

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

movers and shakers

people who get things done; organizers and managers. The movers and shakers in this firm haven't exactly been working overtime. Who are the movers and shakers around here?

See also: and, mover, shaker

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

the movers and shakers

JOURNALISM

COMMON If you talk about the movers and shakers, you mean the people with power and influence in a particular area who make things happen and cause new developments. They were given introductions to the movers and shakers in the industry. Cochran was only 21, but in four short years had established himself as one of the movers and shakers of '50s rock'n'roll. Note: This comes from the poem `Ode' by Arthur O'Shaugnessy (1874): `We are the music-makers And we are the dreamers of dreams... We are the movers and shakers Of the world for ever, it seems.'

See also: and, mover, shaker

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

ˌmovers and ˈshakers

people with power in important organizations: He is one of the principle movers and shakers in the political arena.

See also: and, mover, shaker

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

movers and shakers

n. people who get things done; organizers and managers. The movers and shakers in this firm haven’t exactly been working overtime.

See also: and, mover, shaker

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

movers and shakers

Individuals with the power and/or influence to effect change. At first each of these nouns alluded specifically to God, but in the nineteenth century they began to be paired and applied to human beings. The OED quotes A. O’Shaughnessy’s Music and Moonlight (1874): “Yet we are the movers and shakers of the world forever, it seems.”

See also: and, mover, shaker

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer