1
: an act of evading by sudden bodily movement
2
a
: an artful device to evade, deceive, or trick
b
dodged; dodging
1
a
: to move to and fro or from place to place usually in an irregular course
dodged through the crowd
b
: to make a sudden movement in a new direction (as to evade a blow)
dodged behind the door
2
: to evade a responsibility or duty especially by trickery or deceit
1
a
: to evade by a sudden or repeated shift of position
dodge tacklers
b
: to avoid an encounter with
celebrities dodging the media
2
: to evade (something, such as a duty) usually indirectly or by trickery
dodged the draft by leaving the country
dodged questions
Synonyms
Examples of dodge in a Sentence
Noun
It was just another dodge to get out of working.
just another dodge to get out of working in the yard
Verb
He dodged the first punch but was hit by the second.
She dodged through the crowds as she hurried home.
We dodged between the cars as we raced across the street.
They managed to dodge the reporters by leaving through the back exit.
She accused him of dodging his responsibilities as a parent.
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 24 Mar. 2024
Investigations of corporate tax dodges are generally civil, not criminal.
—Jesse Drucker, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Learning the dodges is doable in some fights, if not still unfun, but the insta-death dungeons are deeply frustrating.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
After everyone finishes a pizza dinner at the special needs program, the multipurpose room transforms into a gymnasium to shoot hoops or play dodge ball.
—Linda Friedel, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2024
Most of his American interlocutors long ago came to understand the dodge.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2024
What if his desire above all has been existential, the impossible dodge of death?
—Mitchell S. Jackson, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023
Alexandra’s behind-the-scenes stunt is the usual reality-TV dodge.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Oct. 2023
Glasgow a century ago was a brutally violent city starkly divided between the haves and the have-nots; in the course of their police work, Dreghorn and McDaid dodge blades, fists, bottles, even cauldrons of boiling soup.
—Sarah Weinman, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023
Brian Bennett, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Popular on Variety There’s also early footage of Rather in the deep South, covering the Civil Rights Movement under constant danger, as well as the dramatic Vietnam War images of Rather dodging bullets while crouching and reporting in the middle of a gunfight.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Starring in the film opposite Kirsten Dunst, the 25-year-old Missouri native spent months dodging flash blanks and learning tactical maneuvers from Navy SEALs to bring to life Garland’s vision of an America riven by violent internal conflict.
—Elaina Patton, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
The drone flies by itself on autopilot and will actually hover and maneuver its way through the air to dodge your shots.
—Maya Polton, Parents, 12 Apr. 2024
Prosecutors said Baldwin, 66, has dodged responsibility since a prop gun discharged in his hand during an informal rehearsal on Oct. 21, 2021, killing Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
—Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
Some of their money is acquired through questionable means—from exploitative business practices, or dodging taxes, or outright theft.
—Christine Emba, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2024
Donald, too busy dodging indictments and pimping bibles and gold sneakers, was a no-show.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2024
The other three have signs indicating cars should stop for pedestrians, but vehicles regularly speed through, leaving students and others to either wait or try their luck dodging traffic.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
Noun
Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s chief executive officer, tried to pretend that the company wasn’t Chinese—describing it instead as a global company headquartered in Singapore and Los Angeles—in his congressional testimony last year, a feeble dodge that undermined his credibility.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 24 Mar. 2024
Investigations of corporate tax dodges are generally civil, not criminal.
—Jesse Drucker, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024
Learning the dodges is doable in some fights, if not still unfun, but the insta-death dungeons are deeply frustrating.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
After everyone finishes a pizza dinner at the special needs program, the multipurpose room transforms into a gymnasium to shoot hoops or play dodge ball.
—Linda Friedel, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2024
Most of his American interlocutors long ago came to understand the dodge.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2024
What if his desire above all has been existential, the impossible dodge of death?
—Mitchell S. Jackson, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023
Alexandra’s behind-the-scenes stunt is the usual reality-TV dodge.
—Armond White, National Review, 25 Oct. 2023
Glasgow a century ago was a brutally violent city starkly divided between the haves and the have-nots; in the course of their police work, Dreghorn and McDaid dodge blades, fists, bottles, even cauldrons of boiling soup.
—Sarah Weinman, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023
Verb
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation found Russia helped Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, but Trump dodged a criminal charge for publicly encouraging Russia to do so.
—Brian Bennett, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024
Popular on Variety There’s also early footage of Rather in the deep South, covering the Civil Rights Movement under constant danger, as well as the dramatic Vietnam War images of Rather dodging bullets while crouching and reporting in the middle of a gunfight.
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024
Starring in the film opposite Kirsten Dunst, the 25-year-old Missouri native spent months dodging flash blanks and learning tactical maneuvers from Navy SEALs to bring to life Garland’s vision of an America riven by violent internal conflict.
—Elaina Patton, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
The drone flies by itself on autopilot and will actually hover and maneuver its way through the air to dodge your shots.
—Maya Polton, Parents, 12 Apr. 2024
Prosecutors said Baldwin, 66, has dodged responsibility since a prop gun discharged in his hand during an informal rehearsal on Oct. 21, 2021, killing Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
—Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
Some of their money is acquired through questionable means—from exploitative business practices, or dodging taxes, or outright theft.
—Christine Emba, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2024
Donald, too busy dodging indictments and pimping bibles and gold sneakers, was a no-show.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2024
The other three have signs indicating cars should stop for pedestrians, but vehicles regularly speed through, leaving students and others to either wait or try their luck dodging traffic.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dodge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dodge
Cite this Entry
“Dodge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dodge. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dodge
1 of 2 noun1
: an act of avoiding by sudden bodily movement
2
: a sly means of avoiding, deceiving, or tricking
just another dodge to get out of working
dodger
noun
dodge
2 of 2 verb
dodged; dodging
1
a
: to move suddenly aside or to and fro
dodging through the crowd
b
: to avoid by moving quickly aside
dodge a blow
2
: evade sense 1
dodged the question
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