NOUN (3)

1. initial adjustments to improve the functioning or the efficiency and to bring to a more satisfactory state;
- Example: "the new industry's economic shakedown"

2. a very thorough search of a person or a place;
- Example: "a shakedown by the police uncovered the drugs"

3. extortion of money (as by blackmail);


ADJECTIVE (1)

1. intended to test a new system under operating conditions and to familiarize the operators with the system;
- Example: "a shakedown cruise"

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Shakedown \Shake"down`\, n.
   A temporary substitute for a bed, as one made on the floor or
   on chairs; -- perhaps originally from the shaking down of
   straw for this purpose. --Sir W. Scott.
   [1913 Webster]
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

shakedown
    adj 1: intended to test a new system under operating conditions
           and to familiarize the operators with the system; "a
           shakedown cruise"
    n 1: initial adjustments to improve the functioning or the
         efficiency and to bring to a more satisfactory state; "the
         new industry's economic shakedown"
    2: a very thorough search of a person or a place; "a shakedown
       by the police uncovered the drugs"
    3: extortion of money (as by blackmail)

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

23 Moby Thesaurus words for "shakedown":
   Gedankenexperiment, audition, badger game, bench test, blackmail,
   bloodsucking, dry run, extortion, flight test, hearing, pilot plan,
   practical test, practice, protection racket, rehearsal, road test,
   shakedown cruise, test flight, test run, trial run, tryout,
   vampirism, workout