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 of careen

Verb

• lurch
• sway
• rock
• shake

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

Sri Lanka was careening from crisis to crisis, then came the Mideast war. —Diaa Hadid, NPR, 29 May 2026

Since then, Republicans in more states have been careening closer to authoritarianism, adopting laws that undermine fair elections and suppress opposing viewpoints. —Mary Ellen Klas, Mercury News, 26 May 2026

His books careen along on an unfurling narrative tide, making an eight-hour journey feel short. —Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026

The ball careened off Benge’s glove and to his right. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2026

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

1578, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1712, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for careen

• agin
• alkene
• allene
• ameen
• amin
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between
• bromine

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