careen

verb

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ca·reen | \ kə-ˈrēn

careened; careening; careens

Definition of careen

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to put (a ship or boat) on a beach especially in order to clean, caulk, or repair the hull

2 : to cause to heel over High waves careened the boat.

intransitive verb

1a : to clean, caulk, or repair the hull of a boat

b : to undergo this process

2 : to heel over

3 : to sway from side to side : lurch a careening carriage being pulled wildly … by a team of runaway horses— J. P. Getty

4 : career The car careened down the hill.

careen

noun

Definition of careen (Entry 2 of 2)

archaic

: the act or process of careening : the state of being careened

Synonyms Careen and Career More Example Sentences Learn More About careen

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Synonyms for careen

Synonyms: Verb

Careen and Career

Verb

Some people might be confused by the warning to not confuse careen and career, because the most common sense of career ("a profession") is not much like any of the meanings of careen. But when employed as a verb, career does have some semantic overlap with careen; both words may be used to mean "to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner." A car, for instance, may either careen or career. Some usage guides hold, however, that the car is only careening if there is side-to-side motion, as careen has other meanings related to movement, among which is "to sway from side to side."

Examples of careen in a Sentence

Verb the sled careened as it barreled down the hill he careened unsteadily to the couch after hitting his head

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Bands of self-righteous patriots careen across the country in bright red tour buses under the banner of Mothers for the Sanctity of the World. — BostonGlobe.com, 6 May 2021 Or are the Pelicans about to careen into a familiar skid, following the path of last year’s dreadful 13-game losing streak that ultimately buried the season? — Scott Kushner, NOLA.com, 10 Jan. 2021 Her books careen wildly among verb tenses and perspectives. — Becca Rothfeld, The New York Review of Books, 1 Dec. 2020 Trump continued to careen from topic to topic on Sean Hannity's show, promoting conspiracy theories, peddling falsehoods, and launching attacks on Democrats and the media during a roughly 25 minute conversation. — Oliver Darcy, CNN, 9 Oct. 2020 The speed and momentum caused the Jetta to careen nearly 200 feet down the road and the car’s engine went 436 feet. — Wayne K. Roustan, sun-sentinel.com, 25 Aug. 2020 Yet politicians seem loath to spend big dollars on protecting schools, despite the likelihood of a second wave with the potential to careen women’s economic equality back to the Mad Men era. — Sabrina Maddeaux, refinery29.com, 18 Aug. 2020 That leaves O’Keef to do the heavy lifting, with brilliantly wheedling monologues that careen between self-delusion and self-pity. — Matthew J. Palm, orlandosentinel.com, 16 Aug. 2020 By comparison, sliding sports, niche activities that require athletes to careen down tracks of ice on sleds at 80 mph, have been largely ignored. — Matthew Futterman, Star Tribune, 6 Aug. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'careen.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.