juggle
Americanverb (used with object)
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to keep (several objects, as balls, plates, tenpins, or knives) in continuous motion in the air simultaneously by tossing and catching.
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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.
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to alter or manipulate in order to deceive, as by subterfuge or trickery.
to juggle the business accounts; to juggle the facts.
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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)
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to perform feats of manual or bodily dexterity, as tossing up and keeping in continuous motion a number of balls, plates, knives, etc.
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to use artifice or trickery.
noun
verb
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to throw and catch (several objects) continuously so that most are in the air all the time, as an entertainment
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to arrange or manipulate (facts, figures, etc) so as to give a false or misleading picture
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(tr) to keep (several activities) in progress, esp with difficulty
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jugglesimple
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jugglessimple
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have juggledperfect
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has juggledperfect
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am jugglingprogressive
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are jugglingprogressive
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is jugglingprogressive
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have been jugglingperfect progressive
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has been jugglingperfect progressive
Past
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juggledsimple
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had juggledperfect
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was jugglingprogressive
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were jugglingprogressive
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had been jugglingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing juggle
World Cup Vocabulary
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Mid-Air
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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.
See Examples For:
Rachel admitted it had sometimes been difficult to juggle her studies with her parenting commitments, including pulling some "all-nighters" to study.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
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
Angel City captain Sarah Gorden struggled to juggle motherhood early in her soccer career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Chronic fatigue has become increasingly common in modern life as people juggle heavier workloads and less downtime.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026
You have to understand the personal dynamics of the group, juggle different personalities, keep people happy, manage the demands on your own time and attention, and so on.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Instead, she has been applying for part-time jobs to chip away at her $101,000 student-loan balance, which she juggles on top of her mortgage payments and other costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Chip falls in with a troupe of street performers, evades the police, juggles along the Seine and eventually wanders into a smoky bar, where Penelope is strumming her guitar.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
In Crawford’s case, she already juggles college coursework, picks up shifts as an UberEats driver and cares for her 1-year-old.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2025
Chanderpaul edged a short-of-a-length ball from Jadeja to slip where KL Rahul caught it after a couple of juggles to end a 66-run second-wicket stand.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2025
As the clock chimes, another ball joins the rest until at midnight he juggles twelve balls in a complex pattern.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Throughout her 20s, she juggled multiple cash-paying jobs, often working gruelling hours.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
In May 2025 she was made redundant, and since then she has juggled four jobs including dog walking and working in the local gym, just "making ends meet".
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
Tottenham finished 17th last term, but were never really in danger of relegation as then-boss Ange Postecoglou juggled an injury-hit squad with a focus on Europe.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
As U.S. officials juggled priorities on Venezuela, oil remained front and center.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026
The emperor was tossed forward and backward, his robe making him look like a golden ingot being juggled.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
But with few barriers to entry, the sector still attracts many workers who migrate from rural areas to cities in search of opportunity, often juggling jobs across several households in a day.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
For many of their parents, that means financial juggling to pay for those camp experiences.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
The moment was the soccer equivalent of an NFL wide receiver juggling a pass in a playoff game and nobody agreeing whether or not it was a catch after an endless delay for review.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Unfortunately, the juggling of storylines ends up being more schematic than insightful.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
What with his juggling, and all his other fancy tricks, he was more used to being the center of attention than I was.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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.
