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

The split you have now means you’re a flexible thinker, and that will help you juggle all the priorities involved here.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 29, 2026

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

From Science Daily • May 29, 2026

This means that the funding needed to meet the high standards and efficiency for essential services, including road maintenance, must go even further and councils need to juggle competing priorities.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

There is some simple math behind figuring out how to juggle multiple important goals.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

He was the only one at school who could juggle snowballs!

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

• alter
• shuffle