maneuver
Americannoun
-
maneuvers
plural
-
a planned and regulated movement or evolution of troops, warships, etc.
-
maneuvers, a series of tactical exercises usually carried out in the field by large bodies of troops in simulating the conditions of war.
-
an act or instance of changing the direction of a moving ship, vehicle, etc., as required.
-
an adroit move, skillful proceeding, etc., especially as characterized by craftiness; ploy.
political maneuvers.
verb (used with object)
-
maneuvers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
maneuvered,
past participle, past
-
maneuvering
present participle
-
to change the position of (troops, ships, etc.) by a maneuver.
-
to bring, put, drive, or make by maneuvers.
He maneuvered his way into the confidence of the enemy.
-
to manipulate or manage with skill or adroitness.
to maneuver a conversation.
-
to steer in various directions as required.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
maneuversimple
-
maneuverssimple
-
have maneuveredperfect
-
has maneuveredperfect
-
am maneuveringprogressive
-
are maneuveringprogressive
-
is maneuveringprogressive
-
have been maneuveringperfect progressive
-
has been maneuveringperfect progressive
Past
-
maneuveredsimple
-
had maneuveredperfect
-
was maneuveringprogressive
-
were maneuveringprogressive
-
had been maneuveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of maneuver
First recorded in 1470–80 for an earlier sense; 1750–60 for current noun sense; from French manoeuvre, Middle French manuevre “handwork,” derivative of Old French manuvrer, from Latin manū operāre “to do handwork,” equivalent to manū (ablative of manus “hand”) + operāre “to work” ( see operate); replacing earlier maanorre “manual labor,” Middle French, as above
Explanation
You maneuver your way through a crowd, a bureaucracy, traffic, or traffic cones. You can maneuver a car or a piece of machinery. Army maneuvers are highly coordinated movements of troops, supplies and machinery. If you're wondering if the opposite of maneuver is woman-euver, wonder no further. It isn't. Although maneuvering often involves a man on the move, the man- comes from the Latin manus meaning "hand." Maneuver reached English via the French manœuvre meaning "tactical movement" — an interesting maneuver in its own right.
Vocabulary lists containing maneuver
The Hate U Give
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Rogue Wave," Vocabulary from the short story
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Touching Spirit Bear
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Halkias pointed to the fast food chain’s recent adoption of shredded lettuce on its chicken sandwiches as a cost-slashing maneuver typical of private equity-owned restaurants.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
The maneuver involves short trips moving oil from Gulf terminals to ports just outside Hormuz, where it can be transferred to vessels headed to global markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
There is one maneuver that pilots say brings them particular anxiety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The maneuver was completed with more than 99% accuracy and consumed less than 10% of the fuel reserved for it.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Less of an apology than a warning, something I hope will make them turn back rather than maneuver all their equipment to the fourth floor.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
The design combines the robustness needed for difficult, high-speed maneuvers with enough computational efficiency to work in real time.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Listen to how nimbly Perry maneuvers some very tricky intervals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Power and politics are the dominant themes in all of them, and in this work, Mr. Harris expertly depicts the political and military maneuvers employed by Caesar and Agrippa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
That’s what makes the promise of increased Treasury buybacks through November, and other potential “tools,” more than technical maneuvers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026
My father ducked maneuvers by taking a test.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Eventually, the robot gripped the glass by the rim, maneuvered it into place and threw its hands in the air in triumph.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
A few hundred yards farther he maneuvered around a set of antitank obstacles and paused near a tree line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The National Transportation Safety Board report, released Tuesday, said the Airbus AS350 B2 helicopter maneuvered above a collision involving an SUV and an L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
That means she recently crossed into her 50s, although when CBS’ Miller asked the glamorous Muppet to confirm that, she creatively maneuvered her interviewer into agreeing that both are 25.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2026
Belet held the other end as we maneuvered it down the hall.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
In a deft bit of narrative maneuvering, Gerald’s voice breaking was written into the show; Jamil Walker Smith played the character for all five seasons and one movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Even pro-AI residents have objected to the furtive maneuvering around data centers.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
But Cook’s careful demand forecasting and supply-chain maneuvering has hit a wall with one technological development: artificial intelligence.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
Ballistic missiles travel into the upper atmosphere or space before plunging back down toward a target, but not all are capable of maneuvering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Bailey and Poppet take a more leisurely route, choosing platforms to climb at random, crawling up bits of white netting and maneuvering carefully through narrow passages.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
