shook

Shook means shocked, shaken up or rattled. It can describe real fear, or, much more often in casual slang, being amazed or caught completely off guard.

What does shook mean?

Being shook means something surprised you so much you’re still processing it. That could be good news (“I’m shook, I got the job!”), a plot twist, a scary moment, or seeing someone look unexpectedly amazing. It’s often exaggerated for effect: “I’m literally shook.”

Grammatically, “shook” stands in for “shaken,” which is part of its casual feel.

How to use shook

• “That season finale has me shook.”
• “I’m shook, I didn’t know you could sing like that.”
• “The whole class was shook when the teacher announced a surprise test.”
• “Still shook from that near miss on the highway.”

Shook vs. dead

Both express a strong reaction. Shook is about shock or surprise. “Dead,” in slang, usually means you laughed so hard you “died.”

Where shook comes from

According to Dictionary.com, the figurative sense of “shook” meaning upset goes back to the 1800s, and Mobb Deep’s 1995 song “Shook Ones” used it as a standalone adjective for someone scared. The lighter “shocked or amazed” meaning spread widely on social media in the 2010s.

Related terms

• Sheesh: an expression of amazement.
• Deadass: seriously.
• Bruh: an exclamation of disbelief.
• Fr: for real.

See more terms like this in our Gen Z slang dictionary.