juggle

American  

[juhg-uhl] / ˈdʒʌg əl /

verb (used with object)

juggled, juggling

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.

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verb (used without object)

juggled, juggling

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

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noun

1. an act of juggling

Other Word Forms

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

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

Example Sentences

College students today juggle heavy course loads, internships, part-time and full-time jobs, and the pressure to build strong résumés.

From The Wall Street Journal

It was designed to corral a small group of suspects within a delimited space, thereby reducing the number of variables the writer needed to juggle and the reader to remember.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Welshman juggles his day job as a carpenter with the demands of a sport so visibly brutal it has stayed in the shadows of combat sports for much of its existence.

From BBC

Music Mogul AI arrives as musicians are being asked to juggle creative work with marketing, logistics and data analysis — often without the safety net of a traditional team.

From Los Angeles Times

She told AFP that she does not regret giving up her full-time job to juggle multiple gigs.

From Barron's

Related Words

• alter
• shuffle