careen

verb

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

lurch, pitch, rock, roll, seesaw, sway, toss, wobble (also wabble)

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

The individual plot lines careen into the custody battle between Celeste and Mary Louise, shifting the show into a courtroom drama — an ugly, painful showdown between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Big Little Lies episode 6, “The Bad Mother,” tries to show why women don’t report abuse," 15 July 2019 Second, remember that what flits through our newsfeeds often comes via algorithms that enable news to careen through our echo chambers and elicit confirmation bias, factual or not. — The Conversation, "Confused about what to eat? Science can help," 5 July 2019 The car then careened out of control and struck a pedestrian, injuring the person, police said. — Kirk Mitchell, The Denver Post, "Suspect shoots male driver, hits pedestrian with car outside Club Karma in West Denver," 17 June 2019 The very notion of an artistic career is antithetical to Rubin’s achievements unless the word is used to connote something careening out of control. — J. Hoberman, The New York Review of Books, "Barbara Rubin, Shameless Angel of Avant-Garde Cinema," 21 May 2019 With the final game of the NBA season in the books, speculation season has headed into overdrive, careening to the point where Dion Waiters-to-the-Warriors has merited ESPN speculation. — Ira Winderman, sun-sentinel.com, "ESPN links Heat’s Dion Waiters as trade option for Warriors’ voids," 15 June 2019 The Honda careened into a black 2000 Dodge Dakota which was eastbound on Colfax and stopped at the red light. — Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post, "Denver police make arrest in connection with fatal East Colfax hit-and-run," 12 June 2019 Similarly, many objects have careened down onto Earth from space, and Gorman looks into those as well—everything from dead satellites, forgotten zip ties, a recognizable American flag, and more. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Ars To-Be-Read: Our most anticipated books for the second half of 2019," 8 June 2019 Exploring Qatar's natural beauty is also a must, and Arabian Adventures provides half- and full-day desert safari tours that careen across golden sand dunes and stop at Khor Al Udeid, Qatar's inland sea with turquoise blue waters. — Jenna Scatena, Condé Nast Traveler, "Why Doha Is Much More Than a Stopover Destination," 4 June 2019

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.