manoeuvre

American  

[muh-noo-ver] / məˈnu vər /

noun

manoeuvred, manoeuvring

1. Chiefly British. a variant of maneuver.

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manoeuvre British  

/ məˈnuːvə /

noun

1. a contrived, complicated, and possibly deceptive plan or action

   political manoeuvres

2. a movement or action requiring dexterity and skill

3. 1. a tactic or movement of one or a number of military or naval units

   2. (plural) tactical exercises, usually on a large scale

4. a planned movement of an aircraft in flight

5. any change from the straight steady course of a ship

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verb

1. (tr) to contrive or accomplish with skill or cunning

2. (intr) to manipulate situations, etc, in order to gain some end

   to manoeuvre for the leadership

3. (intr) to perform a manoeuvre or manoeuvres

4. to move or deploy or be moved or deployed, as military units, etc

Other Word Forms

• manoeuvrability noun
• manoeuvrable adjective
• manoeuvrer noun
• manoeuvring noun

Etymology

Origin of manoeuvre

C15: from French, from Medieval Latin manuopera manual work, from Latin manū operāre to work with the hand

Example Sentences

"Even with maximum adjustment to our settings, the room for manoeuvre remains minimal" for TotalEnergies, he added.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

O'Shea said: "If you've got a situation where the Exchequer takes four fifths of what you're making, I'm not sure there's much more room for manoeuvre."

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

"These are elderly people, then you have younger families, mums with prams… there's no chance in hell that person can manoeuvre around a scooter badly parked randomly in the middle of the pavement," she says.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

Teacher Kim Heilmann keeps a watchful eye on his students as they learn to manoeuvre the heavy equipment.

From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026

Sometimes this manoeuvre can be justified; but often it gives rise to a new sort of Whig history.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton