careen

1 of 2

verb

ca·​reen kə-ˈrēn 

careened; careening; careens

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.

careen

2 of 2

noun

archaic

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

Did you know?

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."

Synonyms

Verb

• lurch
• pitch
• rock
• roll
• seesaw
• sway
• toss
• wobble
• wabble

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

They had been hit from behind by skiers or snowboarders careening out of control. —Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024

The storm careened into the Northeast after first lashing communities over a lengthy path through the Midwest, Ohio Valley and Southeast earlier in the week, causing suspected tornadoes in a few instances that left destruction in their wake. —Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024

Climb the water park's 60-foot tower to careen down seven different waterslides, including the 558-foot Constrictor slide, or just float atop a tube through tropical foliage along the lazy river. —Terry Ward, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2024

Unfortunately, the launch doesn't go as planned and Will's probe goes careening far off course from the path that would have led it to the San-Ti fleet. —Megan McCluskey, TIME, 21 Mar. 2024

The National Transportation Safety Board has said the crash was likely caused by an overheating bearing on a car carrying plastic pellets that caused the train to careen off the tracks. —Josh Funk, The Enquirer, 8 Mar. 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

Congress is careening toward another government shutdown deadline. —Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2024

After the defendant’s 2012 BMW X5 slammed into the family on a sidewalk along Ridgeline Drive near Turtle Rock Drive, the vehicle careened down an embankment and slammed into a tree, Bokosky said. —City News Service, Orange County Register, 12 Feb. 2024

Noun

The former president, facing four indictments and several lawsuits while seeking to reclaim the White House, careens from one case to the next, seeking to exert control over witnesses. —Alan Feuer, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024

In the latest installment, Riley's ex-husband careens back into her life begging for help, and her private investigator boyfriend Nick Santiago doesn't want to get involved. —Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024

Architecture in 2024 Oscar best picture nominees careens from fantasy to willful ignorance. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024

When a rock that could have been as wide as the island of Puerto Rico careens into the ocean, a tsunami will propagate around the world. —Alka Tripathy-Lang, Ars Technica, 26 Jan. 2024

Later, on lap three, Lando Norris loses control of his McLaren on turn 11 after hitting a bump in the track and careens into a wall at top speed. —David Hill, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2024

The narrative careens through uncompelling territory before ending on a forgettable note. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2023

Ramona’s confrontation with her ex Roxie Richter (Mae Whitman) takes place in a video store in which the two women careen magically through different movie genres. —Adam B. Vary, Variety, 21 Nov. 2023

Manager Buck Rodgers suffers serious injuries when the team bus careens off the New Jersey Turnpike and slams into a grove of trees. —Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1583, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1712, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

careen

verb

ca·​reen

kə-ˈrēn

1

: to cause a boat to lean or tilt over on one side for cleaning or repairing

2

: to sway from side to side

3

: career entry 2