/ ˈdʒɒki; NAmE ˈdʒɑːki/ noun , verb
■ noun
a person who rides horses in races, especially as a job
—picture at horse racing
■ verb
jockey (for sth) to try all possible ways of gaining an advantage over other people :
[ v ]
The runners jockeyed for position at the start.
The bands are constantly jockeying with each other for the number one spot.
[also v to inf ]
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WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent.: 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 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 behaviour of jockeys manoeuvring for an advantageous position during a race.