shuf·fle / ˈshəfəl/ • v. 1. [intr.] 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 adj.] (shuffling) she heard Grandma'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 | [tr.] Ben shuffled his feet in the awkward silence. 2. [tr.] rearrange (a deck of cards) by sliding the cards over each other quickly. ∎  move (people or things) around so as to occupy different positions or to be in a different order: she shuffled her papers into a neat pile. ∎  [intr.] (shuffle through) sort or look through (a number of things) hurriedly: he shuffled through the papers on his desk.3. [tr.] (shuffle something into) put part of one's body into (an item of clothing), typically in a clumsy way: shuffling her feet into a pair of shoes, she tiptoed out of the room. ∎  (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. ∎  [intr.] archaic behave in a shifty or evasive manner: Mr. Mills did not frankly own it, but seemed to shuffle about it. ∎  [intr.] (shuffle out of) archaic get out of (a difficult situation) in an underhanded or evasive manner: he shuffles out of the consequences by vague charges of undue influence.• n. 1. [in sing.] a shuffling movement, walk, or sound: there was a shuffle of approaching feet. ∎  a quick dragging or scraping movement of the feet in dancing. ∎  a dance performed with such steps. ∎  a piece of music for or in the style of such a dance. ∎  a rhythmic motif based on such a dance step and typical of early jazz, consisting of alternating quarter notes and eighth notes in a triplet pattern.2. an act of shuffling a deck of cards. ∎  a change of order or relative positions; a reshuffle: the president will deliver a speech short on economic details Cabinet shuffles but long on fight. ∎  a facility on a CD player for playing tracks in an arbitrary order: [as adj.] a fully programmable CD changer with shuffle play. 3. archaic a piece of equivocation or subterfuge.PHRASES: be (or get) lost in the shuffle inf. be overlooked or missed in a confused or crowded situation.shuffle off this mortal coilsee coil² .DERIVATIVES: shuf·fler / ˈshəf(ə)lər/ n.