plural jockeys
1
: a person who rides or drives a horse especially as a professional in a race
2
: a person who operates or works with a specified vehicle, device, object, or material
a bus jockey
pencil jockeys
jockeyed; jockeying
1
a
: to maneuver or manipulate by adroit or devious means
was jockeyed out of the job
b
: to change the position of by a series of movements
jockey a truck into position
3
: to deal shrewdly or fraudulently with
1
: to maneuver for advantage
—often used in the phrase jockey for position
2
: to act as a jockey
Examples of jockey in a Sentence
Verb
There was a lot of political jockeying at the fund-raiser.
The driver carefully jockeyed the truck into a narrow space in the crowded parking lot.
Recent Examples on the Web
Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 19 Mar. 2024
Three scheming siblings jockey for money and power in The Little Foxes, a stirring melodrama starring Bette Davis as the villainous Regina.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 9 Apr. 2024
Characters jockey for flattering media coverage and argue about advancing their own narratives both for vanity and for the sake of a fragile nation.
—Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Notable • Two leading jockeys have been hit with three-day suspensions.
—Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Nov. 2023
The United Kingdom, for example, pledged to spend hundreds of millions of pounds to purchase chips for researchers and developers to pursue breakthroughs and remain at the cutting edge of the industry as nations jockey for a leading role in AI.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 24 Mar. 2024
Activist fight The announcement also comes as activist investors jockey to take more control of the brand.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2024
Affirmed, jockey Steve Cauthen and trainer Laz Barrera became immortalized after beating Alydar by a head in the Belmont.
—Brooks Warren, The Courier-Journal, 20 Jan. 2024
What is also true is how new technologies jockey to replace old ones.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 30 Dec. 2023
Sarah Blaskey, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
His tenuous hold on power led to increasingly brazen acts of sabotage and violence by astonishingly well-armed and increasingly independent street gangs jockeying for territory and dominance.
—Pierre Esperance, Foreign Affairs, 2 Apr. 2024
Also jockeying for the seat are: Sheryl Adams, an automotive technology executive; Matt Gunderson, a small business owner; Kate Monroe, a businesswoman; and Margarita Wilksonson, a businesswoman.
—Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register, 14 Feb. 2024
What about Pete Buttigieg, Michelle Obama and the 'superdelegates?'
Outside the usual suspects who appear to be jockeying for at least a future presidential run, there would certainly be an attempt by other factions of the party to elevate their preferred candidate should Biden bow out.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2024
The trial will come after years of jockeying over whether the dispute should be heard first in American or British courts.
—Bill Donahue, Billboard, 29 Jan. 2024
As the Republican presidential candidates jockeyed for votes during the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris was in South Carolina, shoring up support in a state that will kick off Democrats' primary season next month.
—Mary Bruce, ABC News, 16 Jan. 2024
The Warriors are still jockeying to climb up the play-in standings.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2024
Republicans are already jockeying for consideration March 16, 2023
Never heard of her, gentle readers?
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Noun
Thomas was a horse racing jockey in Jamaica and later worked with horses at the Aqueduct Race Track, the outlets reported.
—Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 19 Mar. 2024
Three scheming siblings jockey for money and power in The Little Foxes, a stirring melodrama starring Bette Davis as the villainous Regina.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 9 Apr. 2024
Characters jockey for flattering media coverage and argue about advancing their own narratives both for vanity and for the sake of a fragile nation.
—Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Notable • Two leading jockeys have been hit with three-day suspensions.
—Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Nov. 2023
The United Kingdom, for example, pledged to spend hundreds of millions of pounds to purchase chips for researchers and developers to pursue breakthroughs and remain at the cutting edge of the industry as nations jockey for a leading role in AI.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 24 Mar. 2024
Activist fight The announcement also comes as activist investors jockey to take more control of the brand.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2024
Affirmed, jockey Steve Cauthen and trainer Laz Barrera became immortalized after beating Alydar by a head in the Belmont.
—Brooks Warren, The Courier-Journal, 20 Jan. 2024
What is also true is how new technologies jockey to replace old ones.
—Jason Parham, WIRED, 30 Dec. 2023
Verb
The two-week campaign between the general and runoff elections became a turf war between the two remaining candidates, Covo and Damian Pardo, who jockeyed for support from the other candidates who failed to advance to the runoff, which could give them the edge in a low-turnout municipal race.
—Sarah Blaskey, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
His tenuous hold on power led to increasingly brazen acts of sabotage and violence by astonishingly well-armed and increasingly independent street gangs jockeying for territory and dominance.
—Pierre Esperance, Foreign Affairs, 2 Apr. 2024
Also jockeying for the seat are: Sheryl Adams, an automotive technology executive; Matt Gunderson, a small business owner; Kate Monroe, a businesswoman; and Margarita Wilksonson, a businesswoman.
—Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Orange County Register, 14 Feb. 2024
What about Pete Buttigieg, Michelle Obama and the 'superdelegates?'
Outside the usual suspects who appear to be jockeying for at least a future presidential run, there would certainly be an attempt by other factions of the party to elevate their preferred candidate should Biden bow out.
—Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2024
The trial will come after years of jockeying over whether the dispute should be heard first in American or British courts.
—Bill Donahue, Billboard, 29 Jan. 2024
As the Republican presidential candidates jockeyed for votes during the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris was in South Carolina, shoring up support in a state that will kick off Democrats' primary season next month.
—Mary Bruce, ABC News, 16 Jan. 2024
The Warriors are still jockeying to climb up the play-in standings.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2024
Republicans are already jockeying for consideration March 16, 2023
Never heard of her, gentle readers?
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jockey.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near jockey
Cite this Entry
“Jockey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jockey. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
jockey
1 of 2 noun
jock·ey
ˈjäk-ē 
plural jockeys
1
: one who rides a horse especially as a professional in a race
2
: one who operates something
a gas-pump jockey
jockey
2 of 2 verb
jockeyed; jockeying
1
: to ride a horse as a jockey
2
: to move or manage skillfully or cleverly or so as to gain advantage
jockey a truck into position
jockeying for position
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