juggle

American  

[juhg-uhl] / ˈdʒʌg əl /

verb (used with object)

• juggles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• juggled,
  past participle,  past
• juggling
  present participle

1. to keep (several objects, as balls, plates, tenpins, or knives) in continuous motion in the air simultaneously by tossing and catching.

2. to hold, catch, carry, or balance precariously; almost drop and then catch hold again.

   The center fielder juggled the ball but finally made the catch.

3. to alter or manipulate in order to deceive, as by subterfuge or trickery.

   to juggle the business accounts; to juggle the facts.

4. to manage or alternate the requirements of (two or more tasks, responsibilities, activities, etc.) so as to handle each adequately.

   to juggle the obligations of job and school.

---

verb (used without object)

• juggles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• juggled,
  past participle,  past
• juggling
  present participle

1. to perform feats of manual or bodily dexterity, as tossing up and keeping in continuous motion a number of balls, plates, knives, etc.

2. to use artifice or trickery.

noun

1. the act or fact of juggling.

juggle British  

/ ˈdʒʌɡəl /

verb

1. to throw and catch (several objects) continuously so that most are in the air all the time, as an entertainment

2. to arrange or manipulate (facts, figures, etc) so as to give a false or misleading picture

3. (tr) to keep (several activities) in progress, esp with difficulty

---

noun

1. an act of juggling

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• jugglery
  noun
• outjuggle
  verb (used with object)
• unjuggled
  adjective
• jugglingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• juggling
  present
• juggled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• juggle
  simple
• juggles
  simple
• have juggled
  perfect
• has juggled
  perfect
• am juggling
  progressive
• are juggling
  progressive
• is juggling
  progressive
• have been juggling
  perfect progressive
• has been juggling
  perfect progressive

Past

• juggled
  simple
• had juggled
  perfect
• was juggling
  progressive
• were juggling
  progressive
• had been juggling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will juggle
  simple
• will have juggled
  perfect
• will be juggling
  progressive
• will have been juggling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of juggle

1350–1400; Middle English jog ( e ) len < Old French jogler to serve as buffoon or jester < Late Latin joculāre to joke (replacing Latin joculārī ), equivalent to Latin jocul ( us ) ( joc ( us ) joke + -ulus -ule ) + -āre infinitive suffix

Explanation

To juggle is to toss several items in the air and keep them moving from hand to hand, with at least one of them suspended at any given moment. Most beginners learn to juggle using balls or beanbags, not knives. A skilled juggler can juggle stuffed animals or oranges, or even knives and flaming torches. It's also possible to figuratively juggle, like when you juggle three jobs at once or juggle your responsibilities as a student, pet owner, and friend. In these examples, you manage several things at the same time. Juggle comes from the Old French jogler, "play tricks or sing songs," from the Latin root ioculari, "to jest."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

juggle juggles juggled juggling

“I was lucky to learn so much from my degree and found it helpful learning to juggle both university and getting the business off the ground.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

“He’s got a newborn and a couple other young kids, so he’s got to juggle all that,” Chesney said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Rachel admitted it had sometimes been difficult to juggle her studies with her parenting commitments, including pulling some "all-nighters" to study.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Chronic fatigue has become increasingly common in modern life as people juggle heavier workloads and less downtime.

From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026

Store managers juggle key rings and extra-large coffees, then the cage gates fly up in the air.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

He already juggles multiple gigs even while driving for Uber and Lyft in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026

It juggles an abundant balance sheet, short-term funding markets, bank supervision and stress tests, and a fast-growing but opaque private-credit complex.

From Barron's ● Dec. 10, 2025

The late nights are partly because he juggles several jobs as the marketing director of a ski resort in Utah and a hotel chain, plus a one-man startup he launched this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025

She lives in south Manchester and juggles three part-time jobs as a music teacher and carer.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2025

Next to him, a wiry man in a tattered suit juggles two oranges and a grapefruit.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

He also credited his Jewish day school education—in which he juggled religious education alongside a standard curriculum—as useful training for the rigors of start-ups.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Throughout her 20s, she juggled multiple cash-paying jobs, often working gruelling hours.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

The Chicago-born comedian, actor and writer has long juggled multiple projects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026

He juggled roles at both companies and started delegating more work at Square to his deputies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026

He threw the torch high in the air where the fireball had just been blazing, caught it as it came down, lit more, juggled with three, four, five torches.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

"What holds them back is the effort of repeatedly finding, opening and juggling different accounts."

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

As a parent of two kids juggling childcare costs, enrichment activities and our grocery budget, putting money into an investment across the world seemed like a bad move.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

Workers say the ability to switch shifts is also a crucial benefit to make enough money to cover rent and other living expenses in Southern California, as some are juggling other jobs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

But with few barriers to entry, the sector still attracts many workers who migrate from rural areas to cities in search of opportunity, often juggling jobs across several households in a day.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Instead, here he was every day, involved with assignments and homework, juggling all this activity and then getting stupid notes from Obie.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

Related Words

• alter
• shuffle