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jockey

Syllabification: (jock·ey)
Pronunciation: /ˈjäkē/

Translate jockey | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of jockey

noun (plural jockeys)

  • a person who rides in horse races, especially as a profession.
  • an enthusiast or participant in a specified activity:a car jockey

verb (jockeys, jockeyed)

[no object]
  • struggle by every available means to gain or achieve something:both men will be jockeying for the two top jobs
  • [with object] handle or manipulate (someone or something) in a skillful manner:Jason jockeyed his machine into a dive

Derivatives

jockeyship

Pronunciation: /-ˌSHip/

noun

Origin:

late 16th century: diminutive of Jock 'ordinary man; a rustic', Scots form of the given name Jack. The word came to mean 'mounted courier', hence the current sense (late 17th cent). Another early use 'horse dealer' (long a byword for dishonesty) probably gave rise to the verb sense 'manipulate', whereas the main verb sense probably relates to the behavior of jockeys maneuvering for an advantageous position during a race

jockey in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of jockey in the British & World English dictionary