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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
David Brooks, Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2026
This one careened off Xavier Hutchinson’s hands and into the waiting arms of safety Craig Woodson.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 18 Jan. 2026
In the Minneapolis and Franklin Park shootings, the drivers were killed and their vehicles continued careening down public roads before crashing into other cars.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 14 Jan. 2026
The camera becomes unsteady and points toward the sky and then returns to the street view showing Good’s SUV careening away.
—Rebecca Santana, Fortune, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for careen
Cite this Entry
“Careen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/careen. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.
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