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verb (used without object)
1.
to turn aside abruptly in movement or direction; deviate suddenly from the straight or direct course.
verb (used with object)
2.
to cause to turn aside: Nothing could swerve him.
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Swerve
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to bark; yelp. |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
noun
3.
an act of swerving; turning aside.
Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English swerven (v.); Old English sweorfan to rub, file; cognate with Dutch zwerven to rove, Old High German swerban, Old Norse sverfa to file, Gothic afswairban to wipe off
1175–1225; Middle English swerven (v.); Old English sweorfan to rub, file; cognate with Dutch zwerven to rove, Old High German swerban, Old Norse sverfa to file, Gothic afswairban to wipe off
Related forms
un·swerved, adjective
un·swerv·ing, adjective
un·swerv·ing·ly, adverb
un·swerv·ing·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To swerve
Example Sentences
- How to grip a two-seam fastball, or make a scuffed ball swerve and dive.
- Committing yourself to one option in advance, such that the other party knows you probably won't swerve.
- Riding a city block between a row of parked cars and moving traffic requires being ready to swerve when a door suddenly opens.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
swerve
early 13c., "to depart, make off;" early 14c., "to turn aside, deviate from a straight course," probably from O.E. sweorfan "to rub, scour, file" (but sense development is difficult to trace), from P.Gmc. *swerbanan (cf O.N. sverfa "to scour, file," O.S. swebran "to wipe off"), from PIE base *swerbh-.
EXPANDCognate words in other Germanic languages (cf. O.Fris. swerva "to creep," M.Du. swerven "to rove, stray") suggests the sense of "go off, turn aside" may have existed in O.E., though unrecorded. The noun is recorded from 1741.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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