dodge

noun \ ˈdäj \

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Examples: dodge in a Sentence

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

The activities included seminars on fashion and beauty, panel discussions and a celebrity dodge ball game.

— anita bennett, Fortune, "BET Awards Mulling Move From Los Angeles, Insiders Say (Exclusive)," 27 June 2018
Chi Chi Price opened up the scoring with a heavy cross-body snipe from 15 yards out, off a roll dodge, then Bowen quickly made it 2-0 with a steal in transition and a dish to Zack Swanson.

— brendan hall, BostonGlobe.com, "BC High hangs on to beat Medfield in boys’ lacrosse," 15 Apr. 2018
Indian actor Salman Khan was found guilty of wildlife poaching and sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday in a decades-long case that has seen the Bollywood superstar dodge multiple prior charges.

— eli meixler, Time, "Bollywood Star Salman Khan Has Been Convicted of Poaching Protected Antelopes," 5 Apr. 2018
As one scientist points out in Samantha Allen’s Daily Beast story linked above, this can easily slide into a new and ill-sourced iteration of the old Blame The Victim dodge.

— charles p. pierce, SI.com, "Royals GM Dayton Moore Makes Bizarre and Troubling Choice to Host Anti-Porn Activists," 21 Mar. 2018
GaGa pits are used to play GaGa Ball, which is a less physical form of dodge ball.

— michelle iracheta, Houston Chronicle, "Parents raise $200,000 for new playground equipment at Buckalew Elementary," 6 June 2018
Actress Alexandra Shipp is ready to get out of dodge this summer.

— kathleen hou, The Cut, "A Rising Star in Paris on Acne, Cheese, and Skin Positivity," 29 May 2018
Rosenstein’s number three, Rachel Brand, had the good sense to get the hell out of dodge after nine months and signed onto an in-house counsel gig with Walmart in February.

— angela helm, The Root, "Head of Russia Probe Says He’s Ready to Go If the President Gives Him the Boot," 14 Apr. 2018
So the passive can be clear and the active can be a dodge.

— The Economist, "The weasel voice in journalism," 24 May 2018

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1575

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

dodge Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Related Words

bluff, feint;

cheating, chicanery, cozenage, craft, cunning, deception, duplicity, fakery, jugglery, legerdemain, skulduggery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery;

fraud, hoax, sham, swindle;

blind, front, smoke screen;

Phrases

sleight of hand;

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

The characters dodge and weave to avoid romping, stomping ankylosaurs, styracosaurs, and allosauri; lava bombs are landing everywhere, and the whole movie pretty much pitches itself off a cliff.

— ty burr, BostonGlobe.com, "The new ‘Jurassic World’ is kind of a Tyrannosaurus wreck," 20 June 2018
Effortlessly, Crawford absorbed the hard-charging Horn the entire fight, while dodging the big blows and countering effectively to wear down his opponent.

— w.g. ramirez, Houston Chronicle, "Terence Crawford scores TKO over Jeff Horn, wins WBO welterweight title," 10 June 2018
Watching the guys dodge and dive to and fro while being bossed around by these hardcore kids was everything.

— becca kufrin, PEOPLE.com, "Bachelorette Becca Kufrin Explains Her Frustration Over Colton's Past with Tia: 'Can I Trust Him?'," 5 June 2018
Cursing under her breath, Lauryn hurried across the street, dodging cars and hopping over the frozen puddles.

— wesley snipes, The Root, "Talon of God," 27 May 2018
The attraction’s ride vehicles, inspired by the character of Slinky in the film, will send riders dipping, dodging and dashing around turns and drops Andy has created to stretch Slinky’s coils to the max. 3.

— shelley caran, ajc, "Stepping behind the walls: Nine new things we learned about Toy Story Land," 25 May 2018
Ray Tedder, 21, dodged heavy gunfire and land mines on Omaha Beach and was killed later near Berlin after his Army unit destroyed several enemy divisions on their way to Germany.

— lisa maria garza, OrlandoSentinel.com, "South Lake County veterans 'who gave all' honored with Memorial Day banners," 24 May 2018
But until recently, a baseline assumption of American politics held that while every president dodges and pivots and puts their spin on the news of the day, the White House, at the very least, does not just make things up.

— jay willis, GQ, "Rudy Giuliani’s New Approach to the Mueller Probe? Make Shit Up, Apparently," 21 May 2018
Mark then attempted to dodge the paparazzo, and accidentally hit a concrete barrier in the process.

— refinery29.com, "Now Meghan Markle's Half-Sister Has Reportedly Been Hospitalized," 17 May 2018

First Known Use of dodge

1680

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

dodge Synonyms

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