shuffle

[ shuhf-uhl ]

verb (used without object)

, shuf·fled, shuf·fling.

1. to walk without lifting the feet or with clumsy steps and a shambling gait.
2. to scrape the feet over the floor in dancing.
3. to move clumsily (usually followed by into ):

   to shuffle into one's clothes.

4. to act underhandedly or evasively with respect to a stated situation (often followed by in, into, or out of ):

   to shuffle out of one's responsibilities.

5. to intermix so as to change the relative positions of cards in a pack.

verb (used with object)

, shuf·fled, shuf·fling.

1. to move (one's feet) along the ground or floor without lifting them.

   Synonyms: scuff, scrape, drag

2. to perform (a dance) with such movements.
3. to move (an object or objects) this way and that.
4. to put, thrust, or bring trickily, evasively, or haphazardly (usually followed by in, into, out, etc.):

   to shuffle one's way into favor.

5. to mix (cards in a pack) so as to change the relative positions.
6. to jumble together, mix, or interchange the positions of (objects).

noun

1. a scraping movement; dragging gait.
2. an evasive trick; evasion.
3. an act or instance of shuffling.
4. Cards.
   1. a shuffling of cards in a pack.
   2. the right or turn to shuffle preparatory to dealing:

      You win the shuffle.

5. a dance in which the feet are shuffled along the floor.

verb phrase

1. 1. to thrust aside; get rid of.
   2. to move away by, or as if by, shuffling:

      They shuffled off to school with little enthusiasm.

shuffle

/ ˈʃʌfəl /

verb

1. to walk or move (the feet) with a slow dragging motion
2. to change the position of (something), esp quickly or in order to deceive others
3. tr to mix together in a careless manner

   he shuffled the papers nervously

4. to mix up (cards in a pack) to change their order
5. intr to behave in an awkward, evasive, or underhand manner; equivocate
6. whenintr, often foll by into or out of to move or cause to move clumsily

   he shuffled out of the door

7. intr to dance the shuffle

noun

1. the act or an instance of shuffling
2. a dance or dance step with short dragging movements of the feet

Derived Forms

• ˈshuffler, noun

Other Words From

• re·shuffle verb reshuffled reshuffling noun
• un·shuffled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shuffle¹

1525–35; < Low German schuffeln to walk clumsily or with dragging feet, mix (cards); akin to shovel

Word History and Origins

Origin of shuffle¹

C16: probably from Low German schüffeln; see shove

Example Sentences

Third, even if Netflix were to officially add a linear channel to its global service, that channel could end up being little more than a dressed-up shuffle button spinning through Netflix’s library of shows and movies.

From Digiday

Count Industry Dive among the winners of B2B media’s coronavirus shuffle.

From Digiday

Put simply, they didn’t have to go through the shuffle of standing up a digital storefront or digitizing a customer touchpoint practically overnight.

From MIT Technology Review

In 2018, the delightful “Stan and Ollie” unfortunately got lost in the holiday release shuffle and did not get the box office or the reviews it deserved.

From Washington Blade

Not only do overly long emails annoy bloggers but your intended message will get lost in the shuffle.

From Search Engine Watch

Obama has latched on to the failure of the embargo to topple the Castros as justification to shuffle the deck.

From The Daily Beast

These formations streamed from Rwanda with the same hopeless shuffle as they did from Bosnia and now as they do from Syria.

From The Daily Beast

Near the door thousands of stilettos slide and shuffle on black ice, somehow always keeping their immaculate balance.

From The Daily Beast

Suddenly the crowd parted, making way for a man who walked toward us in a bent over shuffle.

From The Daily Beast

He instead had to work for it, fake it, steal it, copy it, shuffle and fight.

From The Daily Beast

Surely nothing can be more ungraceful than to see a lady shuffle and run across a street.

From Project Gutenberg

There 'light, and played at shuffle-board, eat cream and good churies; and so with good refreshment home.

From Project Gutenberg

He call me by my name, an' den it come over me dat we done got mix' up in de shuffle an' dat I wuz shootin' at you.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a shuffle of feet all round, and a general rush of anxious mothers into the rick to fetch out their young.

From Project Gutenberg

The man at the entrance ties on these enormous things and we shuffle along in them as best we can.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• drag
• limp
• straggle
• stumble