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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
Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 24 July 2025
Several other analysts sprinkled their response to the earnings call with optimistic observations about Super, who has led the lingerie shop since last September and was hired to revamp a brand that has spent the past six years careening from one disaster to the next.
—Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 28 June 2025
Also warranting a mention is the decor that nods to diner culture without ever careening into kitsch or parody.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 17 July 2025
To wit, back in April and early May the Royals won 16 of 18 games — the franchise’s best such stretch since 1978 — then careened into a 14-28 skid before this recent reset.
—Kansas City Star, 11 July 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 21 Aug. 2025.
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