swerve
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
-
to turn or cause to turn aside, usually sharply or suddenly, from a course
-
(tr) to avoid (a person or event)
noun
Related Words
See deviate.
Other Word Forms
- swervable adjective
- swerver noun
- unswerved adjective
- unswerving adjective
- unswervingly adverb
- unswervingness noun
Etymology
Origin of swerve
1175–1225; Middle English swerven (v.); Old English sweorfan to rub, file; cognate with Dutch zwerven to rove, Old High German swerban, Old Norse sverfa to file, Gothic afswairban to wipe off
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I want to swerve here to talk about the word that keeps coming to mind when I look at the president’s leadership, and it is “mood.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
Still, I’ve decided to simply embrace my butt, even with its quirky swerve.
From Slate • Feb. 22, 2026
The brewer said early last month that production at six beer factories had resumed, while it was processing orders by hand in an effort to swerve potential drinks shortages.
From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025
She described how her husband had tried to swerve out of the way, but trees were in the way.
From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025
The roar of lorry engines would be suddenly cut, then his neck muscles relaxed, his head drooped, and he would wake with a start and a swerve to his step.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
