- Extort money from someone. 2. Make a thorough search of someone. 3. Subject a new vehicle to a trial run. 4. Become acclimated to a new situation.
Examples:
- They had quite a racket, shaking down merchants for so-called protection.
Origin: Second half of 1800s (sense 1); early 1900s (sense 2)
Synonyms: extort, fleece, try out (sense 3)