careen
Americanverb (used without object)
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(of a vehicle) to lean, sway, or tip to one side while in motion.
The car careened around the corner.
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(of a ship) to heel over or list.
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South Midland U.S. to lean or bend away from the vertical position.
The barn was careening a little.
verb (used with object)
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to cause (a ship) to lie over on a side, as for repairs or cleaning; heave down.
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to clean or repair (a ship lying on its side for the purpose).
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to cause (a ship) to heel over or list, as by the force of a beam wind.
noun
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a careening.
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Nautical. the position of a careened ship.
verb
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to sway or cause to sway dangerously over to one side
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(tr) nautical to cause (a vessel) to keel over to one side, esp in order to clean or repair its bottom
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(intr) nautical (of a vessel) to keel over to one side
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has careenedperfect 3rd person singular
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have careenedperfect
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is careeningprogressive 3rd person singular
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are careeningprogressive
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careenssingular 3rd person
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careeningparticiple
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have been careeningperfect progressive
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has been careeningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am careeningprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had careenedperfect
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had been careeningperfect progressive
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careenedparticiple
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were careeningprogressive plural
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was careeningprogressive singular
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careenedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of careen
1585–95 careen for def. 9; < Middle French carine < Latin carīna keel, nutshell; akin to Greek káryon nut
Explanation
Whether it’s an unsteady ship, a speeding bus, or a person who is woozy, use the verb careen to describe something that’s teetering from side to side. When the word careen first entered the English language in the sixteenth century, it was used to describe a beached ship that was turned on its side for repair. The word can still refer to making those kinds of nautical repairs, but now you’re more likely to hear the word used to describe something that is swaying from side to side. You may feel like a ship out of control if you careen madly through a crowd or if you careen down a steep hill on skis.
Vocabulary lists containing careen
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Esperanza Rising
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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.
Christmas came early for Careen Williams and her son, C. J.
From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2019
Forward the fearless barges plunge and bound, Top the curl'd wave, or grind the flinty ground, Careen, whirl, right, and sidelong dasht and tost, Now seem to reach and now to lose the coast.
From The Columbiad by Barlow, Joel
Now we began to Careen, going over to Horn Island, and a Sampan ready to heave down by, and take in our Guns, Carriages, &c.
From The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous, Vol. 3 Who was a sailor, a soldier, a merchant, a spy, a slave among the moors... by Sala, George Augustus
Careen the Margarita there and rectify the wrong—which he trusted was not great.
From 1492 by Johnston, Mary
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.
