dodge

noun \ ˈdäj \

Definition of dodge

1 :an act of evading by sudden bodily movement

2 a :an artful device to evade, deceive, or trick

b :expedient

See dodge defined for English-language learners

See dodge defined for kids

Examples of dodge in a Sentence

It was just another dodge to get out of working.
just another dodge to get out of working in the yard

Recent Examples of dodge from the Web

One Direction plays dodge ball Luckily, One Direction had Corden to thank so the group could finally live out their dreams as a dodge ball team.

— sadie bell, Billboard, "James Corden's 10 Best Non-Carpool Karaoke 'Late, Late Show' Sketches," 10 Aug. 2017
Varys advises Melisandre to, essentially, get out of dodge and never look back.

— joanna robinson, vanityfair.com, "Game of Thrones: Explaining Melisandre’s Mysterious Goodbye," 31 July 2017
Varys advises Melisandre to, essentially, get out of dodge and never look back.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "Game of Thrones: Explaining Melisandre’s Mysterious Goodbye," 31 July 2017
The Family Fun Zone includes a trampoline bounce, Jacob’s Ladder with tightrope walking, Zorb balls, giant dodge-ball arena and relay activities.

— linda mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Health fair kicks off Carlsbad Triathlon," 6 July 2017
One by one, the troupe dodges and rolls under the whirling death girder, sitting up and lying down over and over as the beam misses their heads by mere inches, risking a major dental bill at best and brain scrambling at worst.

— holly millea, Smithsonian, "Step Right Up! See the Reinvention of the Great American Circus!," 29 June 2017
The Truly Nolen Yellow Team with Jaxson De Ville (Jacksonville Jaguars), Captain Fear (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Lil Red (University of Nebraska), Knightro (University of Central Florida) and ThunderBug (Tampa Bay Lightning) won dodge ball.

— jim varsallone, miamiherald, "After never winning, Stanley C. Panther wins again at Mascot Games," 25 June 2017
Any good heir and heiress worth their salt knows how and when to get out of dodge.

— emily jane fox, The Hive, "Ivanka Trump Goes to Capitol Hill," 20 June 2017
Sports camp: Loudoun Sports Center in Ashburn is registering youths 6 and older for a week-long camp offering games and drills in soccer, dodge ball, basketball, football, handball and other sports.

— Washington Post, "Sports announcements for Loudoun County," 19 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dodge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of dodge

origin unknown

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First Known Use: 1575

See Words from the same year

dodge Synonyms

Synonyms

artifice, device, trick, fetch, flimflam, gambit, gimmick, jig, juggle, knack, play, ploy, scheme, shenanigan, sleight, stratagem, wile

Related Words

bluff, end run, feint; cheating, chicanery, cozenage, craft, crookery, cunning, deception, dupery, duplicity, fakery, jugglery, legerdemain, skulduggery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery; fraud, gaff, hoax, sham, swindle; blind, front, smoke screen

dodge

verb

Definition of dodge

dodged; dodging

intransitive verb

1 a :to move to and fro or from place to place usually in an irregular course

dodged through the crowd

b :to make a sudden movement in a new direction (as to evade a blow)

dodged behind the door

2 :to evade a responsibility or duty especially by trickery or deceit

transitive verb

1 a :to evade by a sudden or repeated shift of position

dodge tacklers

b :to avoid an encounter with

celebrities dodging the media

2 :to evade (something, such as a duty) usually indirectly or by trickery

dodged the draft by leaving the country

dodged questions

— dodge a bullet or less commonly dodge the bullet

:to narrowly avoid an unwelcome, harmful, or disastrous outcome or occurrence

coastal towns dodged a bullet when the hurricane veered out to sea

See dodge defined for English-language learners

Examples of dodge in a Sentence

He dodged the first punch but was hit by the second.
She dodged through the crowds as she hurried home.
We dodged between the cars as we raced across the street.
They managed to dodge the reporters by leaving through the back exit.
She accused him of dodging his responsibilities as a parent.

Recent Examples of dodge from the Web

Alabama’s Democratic minority dodged a bullet today as the consensus party favorite for the Senate nomination, former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones, easily dispatched obscure but fortunately named candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr., without a runoff.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Fans Moore and Strange Head to a Runoff in Alabama Senate Race," 15 Aug. 2017
Careful to dodge formulaic representations of people living just above the poverty line in a council estate, the Netflix series supplies a keen look at how class, race, and religion ferment in such close proximity.

— wired staff, WIRED, "Vacay the Premises: What to Watch Before Your Next Getaway," 2 Aug. 2017
Dr. Luke’s team is attempting to manipulate the truth and draw press attention to their case by exaggerating Lady Gaga’s role and falsely accusing her of dodging reasonable requests.

— adam darby, kansascity, "Lady Gaga subpoenaed to testify in bitter legal fight between Dr. Luke and Kesha," 30 July 2017
Even if South Florida can’t dodge more record-breaking rain, there’s hope water managers can at least slow the flood control roller coaster that over the last two years battered the environment.

— jenny staletovich, miamiherald, "More summer rain means more environmental problems across South Florida," 24 July 2017
At conferences, female colleagues, working in pairs, helped her dodge media inquiries.

— The Economist, "Adding upObituary: Maryam Mirzakhani died on July 14th," 20 July 2017
Orange County students will return to the classroom Aug. 14, but the sheriff’s office is still searching for about 50 people to help kids dodge distracted drivers and speeding vehicles, officials said.

— amelia cheatham, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orange County students return to school Aug. 14. Will they have enough crossing guards?," 19 July 2017
This, of course, was leavened by some blame-dodging worthy of Patches O'Houlihan.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Republicans Are in Control. Why Is Nothing Working?," 18 July 2017
As if Freeze didn't have enough questions to answer or dodge here Thursday with the Ole Miss case speeding toward an Infractions Committee hearing, Nutt's lawsuit casts aspersions on his integrity, his adherence to NCAA rules as well as his faith.

— kevin scarbinsky, AL.com, "Houston Nutt takes a big swing at Hugh Freeze in lawsuit against Ole Miss," 12 July 2017

First Known Use of dodge

1680

dodge Synonyms

Synonyms

duck, jink, sidestep, slalom, weave, zigzag

Antonyms

comply (with), follow, keep, obey, observe

Related Words

avoid, elude, escape, evade, parry, shirk, skirt; deflect, turn; slide, slip

Near Antonyms

accede (to), acquiesce (to), assent (to); accept, court, embrace, pursue, seek, welcome; catch, contract, incur

Dodge

biographical name \ ˈdäj \

Definition of Dodge

Mary Elizabeth 1831–1905 née Mapes play \ˈmāps\ American author

DODGE Defined for English Language Learners

dodge

noun

Definition of dodge for English Language Learners

: a clever or dishonest trick done in order to avoid something

dodge

verb

Definition of dodge for English Language Learners

: to move quickly to one side in order to avoid being hit by (someone or something)
: to move quickly in order to avoid being hit, seen, stopped, etc.
: to get away from or avoid (someone or something) in a skillful or dishonest way

DODGE Defined for Kids

dodge

noun \ ˈdäj \

Definition of dodge for Students

1 :a sudden movement to one side

2 :a trick done to avoid something

dodge

verb

Definition of dodge for Students

dodged; dodging

1 :to move suddenly aside or to and fro

We dodged through the crowd.

2 :to avoid especially by moving quickly

dodge a punch

3 :evade

I dodged the question.

—

dodger

noun

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dodge

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dodge

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