mover and shaker

English

Noun

mover and shaker (plural movers and shakers)

1. (figurative, usually in the plural) Someone who has power and influence in a field or activity; one who accomplishes tasks, who gets things done.

   The sales team sought to talk to the movers and shakers within an organization, rather than to their underlings.

   He really is a mover and a shaker in those circles.

   • 2005, Dave Yoho, Have a Great Year Every Year: A Four Point Program for Maximizing Your Performance, OakHill Press, page 175:

     Being loyal to the people you work for is also an important initial step on your road to becoming a mover and shaker.

   • 2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and Facts behind railway plaques: Reading (1840)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 56:

     People such as William James and the Stephensons (with whom he collaborated) may have been the movers and shakers of the early railways, but there was other, less exalted bods who constructed all the paraphernalia - including stations.

Synonyms

• instigator, straw that stirs the drink

Translations

someone who has power or who gets things done

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 具有號召力的人物／具有号召力的人物 (jùyǒu hàozhàolì de rénwù), 風雲人物／风云人物 (zh) (fēngyúnrénwù)

• Finnish: vaikuttaja (fi)
• German: Macher (de) m
• Hebrew: מחליט ההחלטות, בוחש בקדרה
• Portuguese: manda-chuva (pt) m
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

References

• “mover and shaker”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.