1 [in singular] a shuffling movement, walk, or sound:there was a shuffle of approaching feet
a quick dragging or scraping movement of the feet in dancing:Violet tried on a top hat and did a brief vaudeville shuffle
a dance performed with quick dragging or scraping movements of the feet.
a piece of music for or in the style of a shuffle: [mass noun]:it’s the usual blend of boogie, shuffle, and ballad
a rhythmic motif based on a shuffle dance step and typical of early jazz, consisting of alternating crotchets and quavers in a triplet pattern.
2an act of shuffling a pack of cards:the discard is removed from the deck until the next shuffle
a change of order or relative positions; a reshuffle:the Prime Minister may have to consider a cabinet shuffle in the spring
a facility on a music player for playing tracks in an arbitrary order:I had my iPod on shuffle and ‘Eleanor Rigby’ just happened to begin playing [as modifier]:a shuffle facility
3 archaic a piece of equivocation or subterfuge.
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Universal
1 [no object, with adverbial] walk by dragging one’s feet along or without lifting them fully from the ground:I stepped into my skis and shuffled to the edge of the steep slope (as adjective shuffling)she heard Gran’s shuffling steps
shift one’s position while sitting or move one’s feet while standing, typically because of boredom, nervousness, or embarrassment:Christine shuffled uneasily in her chair [with object]:Ben shuffled his feet in the awkward silence
[with object] (shuffle something into) put part of one’s body into (an item of clothing), typically in a clumsy way:she shuffled her feet into a pair of shoes
2 [with object] rearrange (a pack of cards) by sliding them over each other quickly:he shuffled the cards and cut the deck [no object]:anybody who has played skat with my gran knows how to shuffle without dropping the cards
move (people or things) around so as to occupy different positions or to be in a different order:my father shuffled his money around various building societiesshe shuffled her papers into a neat pilethe selectors have been shuffling their resources in recent matches
play or arrange (tracks on a music player) in a random order:the control lets you shuffle or skip songs by flicking the phone with your wrist
[no object] (shuffle through) sort or look through (a number of things) hurriedly:he shuffled through the papers
3 [with object] (shuffle something off) get out of or avoid a responsibility or obligation:some hospitals can shuffle off their responsibilities by claiming to have no suitable facilities
[no object] archaic behave in a shifty or evasive manner:Mr Milles did not frankly own it, but seem’d to shuffle about it
[no object] (shuffle out of) archaic get out of (a difficult situation) in an underhand way:he shuffles out of the consequences by vague charges of undue influence
be (or get) lost in the shuffle
North American informal be overlooked or missed in a confused or crowded situation:a more established sport that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle is team handball
