manoeuvre

American  

[muh-noo-ver] / məˈnu vər /

noun

manoeuvred, manoeuvring

1. Chiefly British. a variant of maneuver.

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manoeuvre British  

/ məˈnuːvə /

noun

1. a contrived, complicated, and possibly deceptive plan or action

   political manoeuvres

2. a movement or action requiring dexterity and skill

3. 1. a tactic or movement of one or a number of military or naval units

   2. (plural) tactical exercises, usually on a large scale

4. a planned movement of an aircraft in flight

5. any change from the straight steady course of a ship

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verb

1. (tr) to contrive or accomplish with skill or cunning

2. (intr) to manipulate situations, etc, in order to gain some end

   to manoeuvre for the leadership

3. (intr) to perform a manoeuvre or manoeuvres

4. to move or deploy or be moved or deployed, as military units, etc

Other Word Forms

• manoeuvrability
  noun
• manoeuvrer
  noun
• manoeuvring
  noun
• manoeuvrable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of manoeuvre

C15: from French, from Medieval Latin manuopera manual work, from Latin manū operāre to work with the hand

Example Sentences

Once he scrambled out, he found ropes nearby that helped him manoeuvre further down.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Euan Gray, 22, got into trouble at Tynemouth, North Tyneside, alongside his brother Andrew, 19, but both used the RNLI's Float to Live manoeuvre to survive while a lifeboat was sent to their rescue.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

"Even with maximum adjustment to our settings, the room for manoeuvre remains minimal" for TotalEnergies, he added.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

This manoeuvre was authorised, head of the Swiss armaments department, Urs Loher told Swiss media.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

The giant’s own momentum lifted him off his feet in an unintentional pole-vault manoeuvre and he flipped over onto his back.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan