juggle

[juhg-uhl]

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.

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

/ 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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of juggle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of juggle¹

C14: from Old French jogler to perform as a jester, from Latin joculārī to jest, from jocus a jest

Example Sentences

Having juggled the early stages of her rugby career with her studies, a life in engineering now beckons for Dow.

Read more on BBC

Along the way, they are taught how to juggle and perform magic tricks.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The next day, as he juggled some two dozen guests still in the building, he received official notice of his termination.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Tuchel is not the first England manager to have to juggle his side around to fit the best players in, with Sven-Goran Eriksson constantly trying to find the right balance in midfield.

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Yu, who trains in Hebei and juggles swimming with her school work, took up the sport when she was six as a means of escaping China's searing summer heat.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• alter 
• shuffle