Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shrug

/ˈʃɹʌɡ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.30 in modern English

Syllables
shrug
IPA
/ˈʃɹʌɡ/
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

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

noun

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

verb

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

Example Sentences

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.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: schruggen, skrykkva, *skrinkwaną

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈʃɹʌɡ/
  • British English: /ˈʃɹʌɡ/

Inflected Forms

shrugs (plural) shrugs (present, singular) shrugging (participle, present) shrugged (participle, past) shrugged (past)

Derived Forms

shrugger shruggie shruggy shruggingly unshrugging

Phrases

shrug off

Frequently Paired Words

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Rhymes With

drug ugh bug plug hug doug dug rug mug tug thug slug

Questions

How do you pronounce shrug?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈʃɹʌɡ/.
What does shrug mean?
A lifting of the shoulders to signal indifference or a casual lack of knowledge about something.
Where does shrug come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce shrug

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “shrug”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈʃɹʌɡ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “shrug”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “shrug” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.