From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshake/rock the foundations of somethingshake/rock the foundations of something (also shake/rock something to its foundations)CHANGE/BECOME DIFFERENT to completely change the way something is done or the way people think by having a completely new idea Darwin’s theory rocked the scientific establishment to its foundations. → foundation
Examples from the Corpus
shake/rock the foundations of something• Yet even as the competition fades into the history books, something also seems to be shaking the foundations of capitalism.• The money economy shook the foundations of a society composed mainly of lords and peasants.• The thunder seemed to shake the foundations of the building. 