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Synonyms

chicane

American  
[shi-keyn, chi-] / ʃɪˈkeɪn, tʃɪ- /

noun

  1. deception; chicanery.


verb (used with object)

chicaned, chicaning
  1. to trick by chicanery.

  2. to quibble over; cavil at.

chicane British  
/ ʃɪˈkeɪn /

noun

  1. a bridge or whist hand without trumps

  2. motor racing a short section of sharp narrow bends formed by barriers placed on a motor-racing circuit to provide an additional test of driving skill

  3. a less common word for chicanery

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to deceive or trick by chicanery

  2. (tr) to quibble about; cavil over

  3. (intr) to use tricks or chicanery

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • chicaner noun

Etymology

Origin of chicane

1665–75; < French chicane (noun), chicaner (v.), perhaps < Middle Low German schikken to arrange

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.

Russell challenged Leclerc for the remaining 10 laps and did make it past into the chicane with three laps to go.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

Leclerc had already been involved in another incident, when he dived for the inside of Russell in the second part of the Turn 12/13 chicane.

From BBC • Aug. 31, 2025

Lewis Hamilton was sixth fastest, 0.306secs slower than team-mate Leclerc and appearing to struggle with rear-end stability on the evidence of several oversteer snaps that sent him into the run-off area at the chicane.

From BBC • Aug. 1, 2025

Piastri tracked Norris closely through the first corner and through the high-speed swerves at Eau Rouge before diving around the outside into the Les Combes chicane at the end of the long Kemmel straight.

From BBC • Jul. 27, 2025

He had also written an astronomical treatise; but hearing of the fate of Galileo, he refrained from publishing, and always used some chicane in speaking of the world's movement.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 11 by Johnson, Rossiter