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Careen and Career
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
Lucinda Rosenfeld, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2025
The car careened off the highway, hit and crossed a central barrier, collided with a tree, and burst into flames.
—Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
All teams careening toward, at best, exhibition bowl season.
—Chase Goodbread, The Tuscaloosa News, 22 Oct. 2025
Eyewitnesses reported seeing one of the railway’s two cars derailing and careening down the street before hitting a building.
—Angélica Franganillo Díaz, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for careen
Cite this Entry
“Careen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/careen. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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