swerve
A sudden movement out of a straight line, for example to avoid a collisionA sudden movement out of a straight line, for example to avoid a collision.
» Tom swerved to avoid the pothole.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(countable, uncountable)A sudden movement out of a straight line, for example to avoid a collision.
Schlenker, Ausweichmanöver
(countable, uncountable)A deviation from duty or custom.
(countable, uncountable)Synonym of drift (“sideways movement imparted by spin bowler”).
- the act of turning aside suddenly
- an erratic deflection from an intended course
Examples
46 sentencesTom swerved to avoid the pothole.
The bus swerved out of control.
I swerved to avoid hitting a skunk.
ruЯ свернул, чтобы не задеть скунса. — Robertpaulson
Tom swerved to avoid hitting a pedestrian.
The driver swerved to miss the dog.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English swerven, swarven, from Old English sweorfan (“to file; rub; polish; scFrom Middle English swerven, swarven, from Old English sweorfan (“to file; rub; polish; scour; turn aside”), from Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to rub off; wipe; mop”), from Proto-Indo-European *swerbʰ- (“to turn; wipe; sweep”). Cognate with West Frisian swerve (“to wander; roam; swerve”), Dutch zwerven (“to wander; stray; roam”), Low German swarven (“to swerve; wander; riot”), Swedish dialectal svärva (“to wipe”), Icelandic sverfa (“to file”).
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Forms
plural: swervesSynonyms
4 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable