I. ˈjäkē, -ki noun
( plural jockeys )
Etymology: from Jockey, chiefly Scots nickname for John
1. Britain : laddie , chappie , fellow
a mischievous jockey
a tough old jockey of a colonel
2.
a. : one who rides or drives a horse ; especially : a professional rider in a horse race
b. archaic : one who handles or deals in horses : horse trader
c. : a person who operates or manipulates an often specified vehicle or other object : driver , operator
a truck jockey
an elevator jockey
a typewriter jockey
specifically : one who parks cars or trucks in a storage garage — compare disc jockey
3. : a sometimes padded leather flap on a saddle that covers the point of attachment of the stirrup leather or serves as ornament — see stock saddle illustration
4. : harvard crimson 1
II. verb
( jockeyed ; jockeyed ; jockeying ; jockeys )
transitive verb
1. : to deal shrewdly or fraudulently with : get the better of by craft : outwit , trick , gull
dozens of unprincipled hucksters at the resort who jockey the unwary for fair
the newly established method of party horse trading jockeyed them out of many deputies — Janet Flanner
2.
a. : to ride (a horse) as a jockey
the winning horse was jockeyed by his son
b. : to be the driver, pilot, or operator of (a vehicle or other mechanism)
jockeys a taxi for a living
3.
a. : to maneuver or manipulate (as a person) by adroit or devious means
proposals for public works were ed through Parliament by a combination of members — E.H.Collis
trying to jockey you into some sort of trap — Erle Stanley Gardner
b. : to change the position of especially by a series of movements : manipulate
jockeyed the camera back and forth till he got just the right angle
: maneuver
jockey the furniture around the living room
specifically : to bring by jockeying
jockey a car into a parking space
flew close to jockey the other plane out of formation
intransitive verb
1. : to act as a jockey
jockeyed in races till he was too heavy for the horse
2. : to maneuver for advantage
jockey for position as the horses race the first lap
watch the racing fleets … jockey for the favoring wind — E.A.Weeks
behind the scenes jockeying … to determine the Democratic party's candidate for lieutenant governor — New York Times