careen

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verb ca·reen \ kə-ˈrēn \

Definition of careen

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

1 a :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.

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Examples of careen in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of careen from the Web

Even the smallest deviation from vertical will send the swing careening around.

— chris lee, Ars Technica, "At the boundary between chaos and order, order rules (eventually)," 6 July 2017
The outfield is spacious, leaving ample room for the ball to careen and roll while a batter takes an extra base or two.

— zach buchanan, Cincinnati.com, "In hitter’s paradise, big hit never comes for Reds," 6 July 2017
Video cameras aboard a RideKC bus captured a car involved in a rolling gunbattle careen out of control and crash into a light pole last week.

— robert a. cronkleton and glenn e. rice, kansascity.com, "RideKC bus videos show car lose control and violently crash after rolling gunbattle," 26 June 2017
The game has moved away from straight, predictable stretch of road that was Tiger Woods (every so often Phil Mickelson rearranged the itinerary) and careened hither and yon, dogleg right and left.

— nick canepa, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Tiger's decline has made golf more intriguing," 25 June 2017
The NBA had been careening toward this style of play for years now—the pace of it, the wild shooting, the impatient abandon.

— zach baron, GQ, "Between LaVar Ball and LaVar-ology," 21 June 2017
Looking back now, it is largely agreed that the contact was incidental, that Larson simply saw Hall careening toward him and at the last second threw his arms up in reaction.

— ben baskin, The MMQB, "Brawls, Booze and True Believers: The Saints’ Wild First Season," 20 June 2017
A man charged with drunken driving careened down a Salisbury street at 130 mph before a crash that left a woman critically injured, news reports say.

— bruce henderson, charlotteobserver, "Man charged with drunk driving after 130 mph crash leaves woman in critical condition," 14 June 2017
His accent careens from unconvincing cockney to erratic southern drawl.

— mia leonin, miamiherald, "Can two African American sisters thrive in the old west?," 12 June 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of careen

from carine side of a ship, from Medieval French, submerged part of a hull, from Latin carina hull, half of a nutshell; perhaps akin to Greek karyon nut

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1583

See Words from the same year