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jockey

Pronunciation: /ˈdʒɒki/

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: a former champion jockey

verb (jockeys, jockeying, 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 and adverbial] handle or manipulate (someone or something) in a skilful manner:he jockeyed his machine into a dive

Derivatives

jockeyship

noun

Origin:

late 16th century: diminutive of Jock. Originally the name for an ordinary man, lad, or underling, the word came to mean 'mounted courier', hence the current sense (late 17th century). 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 behaviour of jockeys manoeuvring for an advantageous position during a race

jockey in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of jockey in the US English dictionary