jockey

American  

[jok-ee] / ˈdʒɒk i /

noun

• jockeys
  plural

1. a person who rides horses professionally in races.

2. Informal. a person who pilots, operates, or guides the movement of something, as an airplane or automobile.

---

verb (used with object)

• jockeys,
  present (3rd person singular)
• jockeyed,
  past participle,  past
• jockeying
  present participle

1. to ride (a horse) as a jockey.

2. Informal. to operate or guide the movement of; pilot; drive.

3. to move, bring, put, etc., by skillful maneuvering.

   The movers jockeyed the sofa through the door.

4. to trick or cheat.

   The salesman jockeyed them into buying an expensive car.

5. to manipulate cleverly or trickily.

   He jockeyed himself into office.

verb (used without object)

• jockeys,
  present (3rd person singular)
• jockeyed,
  past participle,  past
• jockeying
  present participle

1. to aim at an advantage by skillful maneuvering.

2. to act trickily; seek an advantage by trickery.

jockey British  

/ ˈdʒɒkɪ /

noun

1. a person who rides horses in races, esp as a profession or for hire

---

verb

1. 1. (tr) to ride (a horse) in a race

   2. (intr) to ride as a jockey

2. to try to obtain an advantage by manoeuvring, esp literally in a race or metaphorically, as in a struggle for power (esp in the phrase jockey for position )

3. to trick or cheat (a person)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• jockeyship
  noun
• jockeyish
  adjective
• jockeylike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• jockeys
  plural

Participles

• jockeying
  present
• jockeyed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• jockey
  simple
• jockeys
  simple
• have jockeyed
  perfect
• has jockeyed
  perfect
• am jockeying
  progressive
• are jockeying
  progressive
• is jockeying
  progressive
• have been jockeying
  perfect progressive
• has been jockeying
  perfect progressive

Past

• jockeyed
  simple
• had jockeyed
  perfect
• was jockeying
  progressive
• were jockeying
  progressive
• had been jockeying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will jockey
  simple
• will have jockeyed
  perfect
• will be jockeying
  progressive
• will have been jockeying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of jockey

First recorded in 1520–30 for an earlier sense; special use of Jock + -ey ²

Explanation

During a horse race, the riders are called jockeys. Being a jockey is an excellent career choice for someone small. Jockeys, usually male, are always small people, weighing less than 120 pounds and generally standing no more than five feet five inches tall. This keeps the horses' total weight light, allowing them to run faster. When jockey is used as a verb, it means "to struggle or compete," like when politicians jockey for dominance or kids jockey to be the first in line for a bouncy house. Jockey was originally a Scottish word for "boy."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jockey jockeys jockeyed jockeying

The Italian jockey only recently resumed riding a few weeks ago after missing five months because of a fall in January at Gulfstream Park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

Rispoli, the leading jockey at last fall’s Del Mar meeting, has had his own rough stretch, missing five months of action after breaking his right ankle and leg in a January spill at Gulfstream Park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

The risk is that SpaceX and the coming IPO filing from OpenAI could divert even more attention away from Nvidia, as investors jockey for exposure to new AI names.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

In a tribute on Monday, her commanding officer described her as "a bright light in any room she entered" and "an immensely professional solider and an exceptional jockey".

From BBC ● May 18, 2026

The jockey lived hard and lean and tended to die young, trampled under the hooves of horses or imploding from the pressures of his vocation.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

If the pace is slower, jockeys on the other horses, such as Jose Ortiz on Golden Tempo, will have to be careful not to drop too far back.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

To his audience, many of them women aged 18 to 30, Johnson presents the world of colts, jockeys and towering headpieces as a networking opportunity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

He headlines several Melbourne Cup-winning jockeys back again, including 2020 champion Jye McNeil on the Chris Waller-trained Valiant King, whose prospects soared after drawing barrier 10.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2025

Its first generation of video jockeys, or VJs, became celebrities themselves as the channel turned music television into a global phenomenon.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2025

The two jockeys virtually bookended the field as they moved to the post.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Historically, monarchs had a court of advisers, diplomats and merchants who jockeyed for proximity to limitless power.

From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026

It has also jockeyed with Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil producer in OPEC, for regional clout.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026

As TV producers jockeyed for scoops and access, prosecutors in the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, in Fort Worth, were faced with another task.

From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026

Vine also avoided another crash as the peloton jockeyed for position in a windy section of the course as the temperatures soared to 40C.

From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026

We jockeyed for position, but I knew I had to end this game quickly, before the man from Bat Lady’s house disappeared.

From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben

His long stay abroad has also stoked talk of a post-Biya future and accelerated jockeying among would-be successors as questions over who might replace him persist.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

No single category can contain the Whitmanesque multitudes jockeying for position inside us.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

The upper and lower basins are jockeying to shape a new, long-term solution, as several water-sharing pacts expire this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

Bass has been polling in first, with Pratt and Raman jockeying for second place.

From Slate ● May 9, 2026

Now this year there was a whole batch of new kids from different elementary schools combined, and Naheed swore she could feel everyone jockeying for position, like horses on a racetrack.

From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin