/ ʃrʌg; NAmE / verb
( -gg- ) [ no passive ] to raise your shoulders and then drop them to show that you do not know or care about sth :
[ v ]
Sam shrugged and said nothing.
[ vn ]
'I don't know,' Anna replied, shrugging her shoulders.
► shrug noun [ usually sing. ]:
Andy gave a shrug. 'It doesn't matter.'
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- shrug sth off / aside
- shrug sb/sth off / away
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in the sense fidget ): of unknown origin.