Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

juggle

 - 2 dictionary results

jug⋅gle

[juhg-uhl] verb, -gled, -gling, noun
–verb (used with object)
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)
5. to perform feats of manual or bodily dexterity, as tossing up and keeping in continuous motion a number of balls, plates, knives, etc.
6. to use artifice or trickery.
–noun
7. the act or fact of juggling.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME jog(e)len < OF jogler to serve as buffoon or jester < LL joculāre to joke (r. L joculārī), equiv. to L jocul(us) (joc(us) joke + -ulus -ule ) + -āre inf. suffix


jug⋅gling⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To juggle
jug·gle   (jŭg'əl)   
v.   jug·gled, jug·gling, jug·gles

v.   tr.
  1. To keep (two or more objects) in the air at one time by alternately tossing and catching them.

  2. To have difficulty holding; balance insecurely: juggled the ball but finally caught it; shook hands while juggling a cookie and a teacup.

  3. To keep (more than two activities, for example) in motion or progress at one time: managed to juggle a full-time job and homemaking.

  4. To manipulate in order to deceive: juggle figures in a ledger.

v.   intr.
  1. To juggle objects or perform other tricks of manual dexterity.

  2. To make rapid motions or manipulations: juggled with the controls on the television to improve the picture.

  3. To use trickery; practice deception.

n.  
  1. The act of juggling.

  2. Trickery for a dishonest end.


[Middle English jogelen, to entertain by performing tricks, from Old French jogler, from Latin ioculārī, to jest, from ioculus, diminutive of iocus, joke; see yek- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see juggle on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: