shrug

English

Etymology

From Middle English schruggen, shrukken, probably of North Germanic origin related to Danish skrugge, skrukke (“to stoop; crouch”), Swedish skruga, skrukka (“to huddle; crouch”), all from or related to Old Norse skrykkva, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. Compare also Old English scrincan (“to shrink”). More at shrink.

Pronunciation

• (accents with foot–strut split)
  • (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɹʌɡ/, [ˈʃɹʷʌɡ]

    • Audio (US):

      (file)

  • (Australia, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɹɐɡ/, [ˈʃɹʷɐ̞ɡ]
  • (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɾʌɡ/
  • (Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɾəɡ/, [ˈʃɾəɡ] ~ [ˈʃɾɜɡ]
  • (Northern Ireland) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɻʌɡ/
• (accents without the foot–strut split)
  • (Northern England) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɹʊɡ/, [ˈʃɹʷʊɡ]
• Rhymes: -ʌɡ
• Hyphenation: shrug

Noun

A man shrugging.

A woman wearing a shrug, highlighted in pink

shrug (plural shrugs)

1. A lifting of the shoulders to signal indifference or a casual lack of knowledge about something.

   He dismissed my comment with a shrug.

2. A cropped, cardiganlike garment with short or long sleeves, typically knitted.

Derived terms

• shrugger
• shruggie
• shruggy

Translations

gesture

• Belarusian: по́ціск плячы́ма m (pócisk pljačýma)
• Bulgarian: вди́гане на ра́мене n (vdígane na rámene)
• Catalan: encongiment d'espatlles m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聳肩 / 耸肩 (zh) (sǒngjiān)

• Czech: pokrčení rameny n
• Danish: skuldertræk (da) n
• Dutch: schouderophalen (nl) n
• Esperanto: ŝultromovado sg, ŝultrumado sg
• Finnish: olankohautus (fi)
• French: haussement d'épaules m
• German: Schulterzucken (de) n, Achselzucken (de) n
• Hungarian: vállrándítás (hu)
• Italian: spalluccia f
• Polish: wzruszenie ramionami n
• Portuguese: encolhida de ombros f, dar de ombros (pt)
• Russian: пожима́ние плеча́ми n (požimánije plečámi)
• Scottish Gaelic: crathadh m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: слијегање раменима n

  Latin: slijeganje ramenima n

• Spanish: encogimiento de hombros m
• Swedish: axelryckning (sv) c
• Ukrainian: зни́зування плечи́ма n (znýzuvannja plečýma)

Verb

shrug (third-person singular simple present shrugs, present participle shrugging, simple past and past participle shrugged)

1. (ambitransitive) To raise (the shoulders) to express uncertainty, lack of concern, (formerly) dread, etc.

   I asked him for an answer and he just shrugged.

   When he saw the problem, he just shrugged and started fixing it.

   • 1712 January 13 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, January 2, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 264; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

     He […] shrugs his shoulders when you talk of securities.

     The spelling has been modernized.

Usage notes

• The word shrug and the phrase shrug one's shoulders have the same meaning.

Derived terms

• shrugger
• shruggie
• shruggingly
• shrug off
• unshrugging

Translations

to raise the shoulders to express uncertainty, lack of concern, etc.

• Arabic: هَزَّ كَتِفَيْن (hazza katifayn)
• Armenian: թոթվել ուսերը (tʻotʻvel userə)
• Belarusian: паціска́ць плячы́ма impf (paciskácʹ pljačýma), паці́снуць плячы́ма pf (pacísnucʹ pljačýma)
• Bulgarian: вди́гам ра́мене impf (vdígam rámene), вди́гна ра́мене pf (vdígna rámene)
• Catalan: arronsar les espatlles (ca), s'arronsar d'espatlles
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 聳 / 耸 (zh) (sǒng), 聳肩 / 耸肩 (zh) (sǒngjiān)

• Czech: pokrčit rameny pf
• Danish: trække på skuldrene
• Dutch: schouders ophalen, schokschouderen (nl)
• Esperanto: levi la ŝultrojn, ŝultrumi (eo)
• Finnish: kohauttaa olkiaan, kohauttaa olkapäitään
• French: hausser les épaules (fr)
• German: mit den Schultern zucken (de), mit den Achseln zucken
• Hebrew: מָשַׁךְ בִּכְתֵפַיִם (mashákh bikhtefáyim)
• Hungarian: vállat von (hu), megvonja a vállát, vállat rándít
• Italian: fare spallucce
• Japanese: 肩を竦める (かたをすくめる, kata o sukumeru), 肩を窄める (かたをすぼめる, kata o subomeru)
• Korean: 어깨를 으쓱하다 (eokkae-reul eusseukhada)
• Macedonian: крева раменици impf (kreva ramenici), крене раменици pf (krene ramenici)
• Māori: hikihiki pakihiwi, hikihiki pakihiwi
• Persian: شانه بالا انداختن (šâne bâlâ andâxtan)
• Polish: wzruszać ramionami impf, wzruszyć ramionami pf
• Portuguese: dar de ombros (pt), encolher os ombros (pt)
• Romanian: da din umeri
• Russian: пожима́ть плеча́ми (ru) impf (požimátʹ plečámi), пожа́ть плеча́ми pf (požátʹ plečámi)
• Scottish Gaelic: (transitive) crath
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: слегнути раменима pf

  Latin: slegnuti ramenima pf

• Slovak: pokrčiť plecami pf
• Slovene: skomigniti z rameni pf
• Spanish: encogerse de hombros, encoger / alzar los hombros
• Swedish: rycka på axlarna (sv)
• Turkish: omuz silkmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: зни́зувати плечи́ма impf (znýzuvaty plečýma), зниза́ти плечи́ма pf (znyzáty plečýma)

See also

• ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anagrams

• Rughs