A shaker is a container designed to mix things by shaking. The classic example is a salt shaker on your dining table: a small glass or plastic container with holes in the top that lets you sprinkle salt onto your food when you shake it. Pepper shakers work the same way.

In kitchens, a cocktail shaker is a metal cup with a lid that bartenders use to mix drinks by shaking them vigorously with ice. A protein shaker has a tight lid and often a wire ball inside to help mix powder and liquid when you shake it.

When you shake something in a shaker, you're mixing the contents together or getting them ready to pour out.

The Shakers (always capitalized) were also a religious group in early America, nicknamed for their shaking movements during worship. They became famous for making simple, beautiful furniture and for living in communities where they shared everything. Though only a few Shakers remain today, their clean furniture designs and inventions (like the flat broom) still influence how we live.