barajar

To shuffle a deck of cards, and by extension, to consider or weigh a set of options or possibilities: barajamos varias posibilidades antes de decidir. In several countries (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Nicaragua), it can also mean to parry or block a blow.

• Barajó las cartas antes de repartir. — He shuffled the cards before dealing.
• El gobierno baraja varias opciones para la reforma. — The government is weighing several options for the reform.
• Logró barajar el golpe justo a tiempo. — He managed to parry the blow just in time.

In news and formal writing, barajar almost always means "to consider/weigh options," not literally shuffling cards — a learner who only knows the card-game sense will misread headlines like "se baraja un posible acuerdo."

• expression Barajar y dar de nuevo — A well-documented fixed expression meaning to start over or reshuffle one's circumstances — from the card-game image of gathering the cards, shuffling them, and dealing a fresh hand.