Word.ws English Dictionary

shake like a leaf

shake like a leaf verb: to tremble, as with fear, cold, etc.; to shiver.

Verb

shake like a leaf (third-person singular simple present shakes like a leaf, present participle shaking like a leaf, simple past shook like a leaf, past participle shaken like a leaf)

  1. (idiomatic, simile) To tremble, as with fear, cold, etc.; to shiver.
    • My goodness, doll, you're shaking like a leaf. Rico! You've had your fun, pull up.2008, Etan Cohen, Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, spoken by Skipper (Tom McGrath), DreamWorks Animation

Forms of shake like a leaf

third-person singular presentshakes like a leaf
present participleshaking like a leaf
pastshook like a leaf
past participleshaken like a leaf

Questions about shake like a leaf

What does shake like a leaf mean?
Shake like a leaf means to tremble, as with fear, cold, etc.; to shiver.
What part of speech is shake like a leaf?
Shake like a leaf is a verb.
What is the past tense of shake like a leaf?
The past tense of shake like a leaf is shook like a leaf.

Words near shake like a leaf in the dictionary

  1. shake hole
  2. shake in one's boots
  3. shake in one's shoes
  4. shake it
  5. shake it up
  6. shake like a leaf
  7. shake map
  8. shake maps
  9. shake off
  10. shake off the dust from one's feet
  11. shake on it

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: shake like a leaf (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-shake like a leaf.ogg.

Cite this entry: “shake like a leaf.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shake_like_a_leaf. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.