to elude or evade by a sudden shift of position or by strategy.
to dodge a blow; to dodge a question.
Photography. Also hold back. (in printing) to shade (an area of a print) from exposure for a period, while exposing the remainder of the print in order to lighten or eliminate the area (sometimes followed byout ).
to move aside or change position suddenly, as to avoid a blow or get behind something.
to use evasive methods; prevaricate.
When asked a direct question, he dodges.
a quick, evasive movement, as a sudden jump away to avoid a blow or the like.
an ingenious expedient or contrivance; shifty trick.
Slang. a business, profession, or occupation.
to avoid or attempt to avoid (a blow, discovery, etc), as by moving suddenly
to evade (questions, etc) by cleverness or trickery
(intr) Leisure:Bell-ringing to make a bell change places with its neighbour when sounding in successive changes
(tr) photog to lighten or darken (selected areas on a print) by manipulating the light from an enlarger
a plan or expedient contrived to deceive
a sudden evasive or hiding movement
a clever contrivance
Leisure:Bell-ringing the act of dodging
First recorded in 1560–70; of obscure origin
To dodge something is to avoid it. In dodge ball, players dodge the balls being thrown at them. Dodging is making quick, sudden movements, usually to avoid something. You have to move quickly to dodge a flower pot that's falling from a ledge. In football, running backs are good at dodging defensive players. Politicians do a lot of maneuvers and manipulations to dodge blame, and plenty of people dodge responsibility for something they're supposed to take care of. So any kind of evasion strategy is a dodge.
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Like a striker attempting to weave around defenders in the box, the brothers have had to dodge and weave to stay upright and it has meant some tough decisions.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
Also read: Want to dodge a big RMD?
From MarketWatch • Jun. 3, 2026
Brazilians have been living with capybaras forever, dodging them on roads like rural American drivers dodge deer.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
“Let’s just hope he doesn’t slip on any ballroom banana peels, though, if he can dodge a fastball, he can handle a quickstep!”
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
The cats were just fast enough to dodge Idiptu's darting tongue and just nimble enough to stay out of reach of his sweeping arms.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
