juke
n. countablen. a quick, sudden change in direction while moving. It is often used in sports like basketball or football to describe a player's fast move to get past an opponent.
n. a sudden, sharp change in direction, typically used in sports to evade an opponent. Informal in register; primarily used in North American English.
The player made a quick juke to get past the defender.
The quarterback performed a sharp juke to the left, leaving the safety behind and opening up a path for the touchdown.
While the athlete's physical strength was impressive, it was his ability to execute a series of rapid jukes that truly defined his performance against the more experienced team.
From Gullah juke, jook, joog (“wicked, disorderly”) (compare Wolof and Bambara dzug (“unsavory”)).
From Jamaican Creole jook.
Uncertain. Perhaps from Scots jouk, jowk, juke (“to elude, cheat; duck, skulk; bob, dodge”), palatalized variants of Scots deuk, douk, dowk (“to duck”). More at duck (verb).