careen

American  

[kuh-reen] / kəˈrin /

verb (used without object)

1. (of a vehicle) to lean, sway, or tip to one side while in motion.

   The car careened around the corner.

2. (of a ship) to heel over or list.

3. career.

4. South Midland U.S.  to lean or bend away from the vertical position.

   The barn was careening a little.

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verb (used with object)

Nautical.

1. to cause (a ship) to lie over on a side, as for repairs or cleaning; heave down.

2. to clean or repair (a ship lying on its side for the purpose).

3. to cause (a ship) to heel over or list, as by the force of a beam wind.

noun

1. a careening.

2. Nautical.  the position of a careened ship.

careen British  

/ kəˈriːn /

verb

1. to sway or cause to sway dangerously over to one side

2. (tr) nautical to cause (a vessel) to keel over to one side, esp in order to clean or repair its bottom

3. (intr) nautical (of a vessel) to keel over to one side

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Other Word Forms

• careenage noun
• careener noun

Etymology

Origin of careen

1585–95 careen for def. 9; < Middle French carine < Latin carīna keel, nutshell; akin to Greek káryon nut

Example Sentences

The Continent today is careening into a second wrenching fiscal crisis, after the 2010 disaster.

From The Wall Street Journal

The car came careening down Sepulveda Boulevard, collided into Braun Levi and sent the Loyola High School tennis star flying through the air before he slammed into the asphalt.

From Los Angeles Times

After the opening bell rang in New York Friday, shares in Nvidia, Oracle and other companies at the heart of the artificial-intelligence boom careened low enough to flash a green light for dip-buyers.

From The Wall Street Journal

Earlier in 2022, 16 people, including a child, were killed and more than a dozen others were injured when a truck descending a remote mountain in West Papua careened into a cliff and crashed.

From Barron's

But inside the car, I steadily fed it power as I careened into the seemingly endless Turn 3, and felt it practically eat up asphalt through a slightly winding Turn 9.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• lurch