shuffling
Americanadjective
-
moving in a dragging or clumsy manner.
-
prevaricating; evasive.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of shuffling
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In early hip-hop and dance music, Mr. Gibbs heard echoes of the shuffling feet and handclaps of a ring shout, the communal spiritual ritual in which enslaved Africans used their own bodies as instruments.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
He, fellow staff and scores of volunteers were shuffling between tasks like firing up stoves and spreading protective covers on a collection of smaller plants, like orchids.
From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026
There was awkward shuffling as he mentioned his territorial ambitions for Canada and Greenland, and made an "offer you can't refuse" to those importing into his country.
From BBC • Jan. 18, 2026
Performers are dropping their masks, or at the very least shuffling them, to force us to think harder about what we’re all doing in the theater as the world around us burns.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025
He had reached the bottom of the page when we heard Christoffels’ shuffling steps on the stairs.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.