dodge

1 of 2

noun

1
: an act of evading by sudden bodily movement
2
a
: an artful device to evade, deceive, or trick
b

dodge

2 of 2

verb

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
Phrases
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

Examples of dodge in a Sentence

Noun It was just another dodge to get out of working. just another dodge to get out of working in the yard Verb 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 on the Web
Noun
Investigations of corporate tax dodges are generally civil, not criminal. Jesse Drucker, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024 Learning the dodges is doable in some fights, if not still unfun, but the insta-death dungeons are deeply frustrating. Paul Tassi, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 After everyone finishes a pizza dinner at the special needs program, the multipurpose room transforms into a gymnasium to shoot hoops or play dodge ball. Linda Friedel, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2024 Most of his American interlocutors long ago came to understand the dodge. David Remnick, The New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2024 What if his desire above all has been existential, the impossible dodge of death? Mitchell S. Jackson, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2023 Alexandra’s behind-the-scenes stunt is the usual reality-TV dodge. Armond White, National Review, 25 Oct. 2023 Glasgow a century ago was a brutally violent city starkly divided between the haves and the have-nots; in the course of their police work, Dreghorn and McDaid dodge blades, fists, bottles, even cauldrons of boiling soup. Sarah Weinman, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2023 Bold Glamour has been posted 128.5 million times even as TikTok dodges questions about the effect’s use of AI. Tatum Hunter, Washington Post, 20 Sep. 2023
Verb
Donald, too busy dodging indictments and pimping bibles and gold sneakers, was a no-show. Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2024 The other three have signs indicating cars should stop for pedestrians, but vehicles regularly speed through, leaving students and others to either wait or try their luck dodging traffic. Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024 To feign ignorance or refuse to engage with the underlying processes behind AI in an attempt to dodge responsibility, save costs, or cut corners, is irresponsible and dangerous. Quora, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024 Several onlookers captured footage of the flightless bird dodging cars and running across lanes of traffic. Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024 But these conversations dodge many of the realities of COVID-19 in this phase. Saad B. Omer, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024 By making a splash with its enforcement actions, the IRS hopes to discourage others from trying to dodge their tax obligations. Scott Horsley, NPR, 24 Mar. 2024 In Washington, Mayorkas dodged a first attempt at impeachment, but not a second. E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2024 That’s according to the latest data from global employment platform Indeed, which surveyed over 1000 employees and 500 employers in the U.K. and found that 1 in 5 employees are dodging the office to avoid the annoying behavior of co-workers. Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 21 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dodge.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

1575, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1680, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of dodge was in 1575

Dictionary Entries Near dodge

Cite this Entry

“Dodge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dodge. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

dodge

1 of 2 noun
1
: an act of avoiding by sudden bodily movement
2
: a sly means of avoiding, deceiving, or tricking
just another dodge to get out of working
dodger noun

dodge

2 of 2 verb
dodged; dodging
1
a
: to move suddenly aside or to and fro
dodging through the crowd
b
: to avoid by moving quickly aside
dodge a blow
2
: evade sense 1
dodged the question

Biographical Definition

Dodge

biographical name

Mary Elizabeth 1831–1905 née Mapes ˈmāps How to pronounce Dodge (audio) American author

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