I. shuf ‧ fle 1 /ˈʃʌf ə l/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Perhaps from shove ]
1 . [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] to walk very slowly and noisily, without lifting your feet off the ground
shuffle forward/over/back etc
The official signaled to one of the waiters, who shuffled forward.
With sore legs and aching chest, he shuffled over to the bathroom.
2 . shuffle your feet to move your feet slightly, especially because you are bored or embarrassed:
Monica shuffled her feet nervously and stared at the floor.
3 . [transitive] to move something such as papers into a different order or into different positions:
Jack sat nervously shuffling the papers around on his desk.
shuffle through
Frances shuffled through a pile of magazines.
4 . [intransitive and transitive] to mix ↑ playing card s into a different order before playing a game with them:
Is it my turn to shuffle?
Just shuffle the cards.
⇨ ↑ reshuffle
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to walk slowly
▪ trudge /trʌdʒ/ to walk in a slow tired way because it is difficult to continue walking, or you do not want to go somewhere:
The men trudged along the road, heads bent against the wind.
|
I’ve spent hours trudging around the shops looking for a present.
▪ plod to walk slowly in a tired way – often used about a horse, donkey etc:
The donkey was plodding slowly along under its heavy load.
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I plodded on growing thirstier and hungrier.
▪ shuffle to walk very slowly and noisily without lifting your feet off the ground:
The old man got up and shuffled to the door.
II. shuffle 2 BrE AmE noun
1 . [singular] a slow walk in which you do not lift your feet off the ground
2 . [countable] the act of mixing cards into a different order before playing a game
3 . be/get lost in the shuffle to not be noticed or considered because there are so many other things to deal with:
The information contained in the memo got lost in the shuffle once it reached headquarters.