veer

1 of 3

verb (1)

veered; veering; veers

intransitive verb

1
: to change direction or course
the economy veered sharply downward
2
of the wind : to shift in a clockwise direction compare back entry 4 sense 2
3
of a ship : to change course by turning the stern to the wind

transitive verb

: to direct to a different course
specifically : wear sense 7
veeringly adverb

veer

2 of 3

noun

: a change in course or direction
a veer to the right

veer

3 of 3

verb (2)

veered; veering; veers

transitive verb

: to let out (something, such as a rope)
Choose the Right Synonym for veer

swerve, veer, deviate, depart, digress, diverge mean to turn aside from a straight course.

swerve may suggest a physical, mental, or moral turning away from a given course, often with abruptness.

swerved to avoid hitting the dog

veer implies a major change in direction.

at that point the path veers to the right

deviate implies a turning from a customary or prescribed course.

never deviated from her daily routine

depart suggests a deviation from a traditional or conventional course or type.

occasionally departs from his own guidelines

digress applies to a departing from the subject of one's discourse.

a professor prone to digress

diverge may equal depart but usually suggests a branching of a main path into two or more leading in different directions.

after school their paths diverged

Examples of veer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
However, the Minnesota State Patrol determined that Dempsey was on the shoulder of the road when Curry veered from the travel lane and struck him at between 54 and 63 mph, according to the complaint. Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 17 Apr. 2024 The Corvette and Lamborghini were speeding in the far left lane of the highway when both drivers lost control and Rice veered onto the shoulder and hit the median wall, investigators have said. Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2024 Incident drifts into incident as the family ambles along over the hills and past the trees of the Pacific Northwest, sometimes veering into slapstick — watch out for that turtle! — sometimes becoming highly scatological, and sometimes detouring into violent, gory tragedy. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2024 The National Transportation Safety Board, in its investigation, found that Autopilot was engaged for nearly 19 minutes before the fatal crash, when the car, traveling at 71 mph, veered off the highway. David Goldman, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024 Rivera said local Democratic Party leaders have veered away from the fundamentals related to recruiting newcomers to public office and growing the base. Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024 According to flight tracking data from Flightradar24 reviewed by the outlet, the plane had seemingly veered east off course, resulting in its flight path no longer lining up with the runway. Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024 Pluhar veered onto a four-inch-high median, careened across bridge lanes, hit a curb and jumped a guard rail, going over the edge and into the Straits of Mackinac. Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 26 Mar. 2024 While the series follows an investigative producer who teamed with law-enforcement to spring innocent inmates from custody, the Mandela portrait will counter previous efforts that veered too far into hagiography. Ben Croll, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
Noun
Implicit censorship When a film veers from these formulas, Hindu hard-liners have quickly mobilized in protest. Sushmita Pathak, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Apr. 2024 If journalists reporting on health veer into sensationalism and scaremongering, and this literally causes readers harm, was their choice of words unethical? TIME, 4 Apr. 2024 Social policy could hold steady, strategists predict, or veer sharply right. Danielle Paquette, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024 While the 1994 film has become something of a cult classic, Sanders’ version of the film is a modern reimagining and veers from O’Barr’s source material. Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 28 Feb. 2024 Tom Scutt’s costumes are plausible Carhartt-ish evocations of today’s border country denizens; Guy Hoare’s lighting veers wildly, naturalistic to stark to frantic. Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2024 The record goes places darker than fans may be used to hearing, but never veers gloomy, and ends rather purposefully on a note of optimism. Rachel Desantis, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024 Each spoonful veers from sour to sweet and then spicy for a particular amalgamation of flavors that’s both familiar and intoxicating. Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024 Many veer between bland mimeography and slavish hagiography. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Mar. 2024
Verb
For a citrus perfume that veers more savory than sweet, this D.S. & Durga fragrance has found the sweet spot. Tatjana Freund, ELLE, 31 Mar. 2023 Think of post-punk scrubbed of all darkness, maybe even art: Trademark echoes were offset by a melodicism that veered on loungey, thrift fashion as bubblegum. Noah Shachtman, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2023 On Monday, 28-year-old Minnesota cowboy J.D. Struxness was making his way on horseback across the stadium during a steer wrestling event when his horse tripped over a steer who veered too closely alongside them. Ariana Garcia, Chron, 17 Mar. 2023 She was fatally struck by a drunken driver who had veered into a safety lane blocked by cones. Dominic Fracassa, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Mar. 2023 Due to its slim design and premium comfort, the Bose 700s are the exception to the rule of wanting to veer away from traditional headphone designs. John Thompson, Men's Health, 14 Feb. 2023 Super Bowl snacks tend to veer salty — best washed down with a cold beer. Times Insider Staff, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2023 Hence the content of the courses tends to veer towards teaching practices that turn graduates into dutiful employees of big firms pursuing short term goals. Steve Denning, Forbes, 25 Jan. 2023 To combat that, the Jones family decided to veer away from the conventional farming model. Quartz, 20 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'veer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English veren, probably altered from Anglo-French virer "to whirl, turn, revolve" (continental Old French, "to throw with a twisting motion"), going back to Vulgar Latin *vīrāre, reduced from Latin vibrāre "to wave, propel suddenly" — more at vibrate

Note: The vowel change (e in Middle English, i in French) is of unclear motivation. Cf. Old Scots wyr, wyre "to throw along a curving trajectory," vyre "to turn about a fixed point," apparently borrowed from Anglo-French virer with no alteration of vowel.

Noun

noun derivative of veer entry 1

Verb (2)

Middle English veren, borrowed from Middle Dutch *vieren or Middle Low German vīren, perhaps from a Frisian verbal derivative of Old Frisian fīr "far"; akin to Old English feorr far entry 1

First Known Use

Verb (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

circa 1611, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of veer was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near veer

Cite this Entry

“Veer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/veer. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

veer

verb
ˈvi(ə)r
: to change direction or course
the highway veers inland at this point
veer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on veer

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!