• IPA: /ˈʃʌfəl/

shuffle (plural shuffles)

1. The act of shuffling cards.

   He made a real mess of the last shuffle.

2. The act of reordering anything, such as music tracks in a media player.
3. An instance of walking without lifting one's feet.

   The sad young girl left with a tired shuffle.

4. (by extension, music) A rhythm commonly used in blues music. Consists of a series of triplet notes with the middle note missing, so that it sounds like a long note followed by a short note. Sounds like a walker dragging one foot.
5. A trick; an artifice; an evasion.

   • The gifts of nature are beyond all shame and shuffles.

• French: battage
• German: Mischen, Mischeln (southern Germany)
• Portuguese: embaralhamento, baralhar
• Russian: тасова́ние
• Spanish: barajar

shuffle (shuffles, present participle shuffling; past and past participle shuffled)

1. (ambitransitive) To put in a random order.

   Don't forget to shuffle the cards.

   You shuffle, and I'll deal.

   The data packets are shuffled before transmission.

   I'm going to shuffle all the songs in my playlist.

2. To change; modify the order of something.
3. (ambitransitive) To move in a slovenly, dragging manner; to drag or scrape the feet in walking or dancing.

   He shuffled out of the room.

   I shuffled my feet in embarrassment.

   • 1819, John Keats, “The Eve of St. Agnes”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: Printed [by Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, OCLC 927360557 ↗, stanza XI, page 88 ↗:

     [T]he aged creature came, / Shuffling along with ivory-headed wand, [...]

4. To change one's position; to shift ground; to evade questions; to resort to equivocation; to prevaricate.
   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The Merry VViues of VVindsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act II, scene ii]:

     I myself, […] hiding mine honour in my necessity, am fain to shuffle.

5. To use arts or expedients; to make shift.
   • 1611 April (first recorded performance)​, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act V, scene v]:

     Your life, good master, / Must shuffle for itself.

6. To shove one way and the other; to push from one to another.

   to shuffle money from hand to hand

7. To remove or introduce by artificial confusion.

   • It was contrived by your enemies, and shuffled into the papers that were seiz'd.

• (walk without picking up one's feet) shamble

• French: battre, mélanger
• German: mischen, mischeln (southern Germany)
• Italian: mescolare, mischiare
• Portuguese: embaralhar, baralhar
• Russian: тасова́ть
• Spanish: mezclar, barajear, barajar

• French: traîner les pieds
• German: schlurfen
• Italian: strascicare, trascinarsi
• Portuguese: arrastar os pés
• Russian: ша́ркать
• Spanish: arrastrar, arrastrar los pies