What does "jockey" mean?
One who rides racehorses competitively.
Jockey
noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·2 syllables ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One who rides racehorses competitively.
- Grammar: jockey is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: angle, beguile, bellyband, broncobuster.
- Useful contrasts: concede, dismount, honest actor.
- Usage evidence: He is out and away the best jockey.
How to use "jockey"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "jockey" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "jockey" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "jockey" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "jockey" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "jockey" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "angle" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "jockey", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One who rides racehorses competitively.
- 2 someone employed to ride horses in horse races wordnet
- 3 That part of a variable resistor or potentiometer that rides over the resistance wire
- 4 an operator of some vehicle or machine or apparatus wordnet
- 5 An operator of some machinery or apparatus. in-compounds
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A dealer in horses; a horse trader. dated
"And the crime for which Nuncomar was about to die was regarded by them in much the same light in which the selling of an unsound horse, for a sound price, is regarded by a Yorkshire jockey."
- 7 A cheat; one given to sharp practice in trade. dated
- 8 A prostitute's client. UK, slang
- 9 A rapist. Ireland, slang
Verb
- 1 To ride (a horse) in a race.
- 2 ride a racehorse as a professional jockey wordnet
- 3 To jostle by riding against.
"They were jockeying for position toward the end of the race."
- 4 defeat someone through trickery or deceit wordnet
- 5 To maneuver (something) by skill; especially, to do so for one's advantage.
"They're all jockeying for promotion."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 compete (for an advantage or a position) wordnet
- 7 To cheat or trick.
"I've been jockeyed into doing work for which I get no credit."
Antonyms
Example
"He is out and away the best jockey."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "jockey"?
Common synonyms include: angle, beguile, bellyband, broncobuster, buckaroo, caballero.
How do you use "jockey" in a sentence?
He is out and away the best jockey.
Etymology
The word is by origin a diminutive of jock, the Northern English or Scots colloquial equivalent of the first name John, which is also used generically for "boy" or "fellow" (compare Jack, Dick), at least since 1529. A familiar instance of the use of the word as a name is in "Jockey of Norfolk" in Shakespeare's Richard III. v. 3, 304. Equivalent to jock + -ey. In the 16th and 17th centuries the word was applied to horse-dealers, postilions, itinerant minstrels and vagabonds, and thus frequently bore the meaning of a cunning trickster, a "sharp", whence the verb to jockey, "to outwit" or "to do" a person out of something. The current meaning of a person who rides a horse in races was first seen in 1670.