shake·out
ˈshāk-ˌau̇t 
1
: the failure or retrenchment of a significant number of firms in the economy or a sector or an industry that usually results in a depressed market
2
: a period or process in which the relatively weak or unessential are eliminated
shook out; shaken out; shaking out; shakes out
: to prove to be in the end : turn out
wait to see how things shake out
Examples of shakeout in a Sentence
Verb
after hearing about all the elaborate planning, I can't wait to see how that wedding shakes out
Recent Examples on the Web
Will Porter, Outside, 13 Sep. 2025
So many startups have launched over the last five years that many close observers in the space expect there to be a shakeout soon.
—Natalie Jarvey, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2025
Noah Camras, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
No matter how all this shakes out, OpenAI's demand for training large language models and inference — or running them to serve millions of customers — has translated into new customers and boosted overall cloud spending on Azure.
—Paulina Likos, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shakeout
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Noun
All-Terrain Testing My first run in the shoe was a short 5k shakeout on the roads around downtown Chamonix.
—Will Porter, Outside, 13 Sep. 2025
So many startups have launched over the last five years that many close observers in the space expect there to be a shakeout soon.
—Natalie Jarvey, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2025
Verb
Here's how the staff at Newsweek Sports expects things to shake out.
—Noah Camras, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
No matter how all this shakes out, OpenAI's demand for training large language models and inference — or running them to serve millions of customers — has translated into new customers and boosted overall cloud spending on Azure.
—Paulina Likos, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shakeout
Cite this Entry
“Shakeout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shakeout. Accessed 23 Sep. 2025.
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