chicane
Americannoun
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a bridge or whist hand without trumps
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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
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a less common word for chicanery
verb
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(tr) to deceive or trick by chicanery
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(tr) to quibble about; cavil over
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(intr) to use tricks or chicanery
Other Word Forms
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.
But that was before the Miami Grand Prix moved in—before the artificial marina, the aqua chicane or the race weekends that packed in 275,000 fans.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
Russell lost that place because he hit the harvest limit early, which meant he was not recharging into the chicane so had less energy for the restart.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
Their rookie British driver Arvid Lindblad spun at the Villeneuve chicane and the car had to be recovered on a truck.
From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026
Alonso then undercut past the Sauber with an earlier pit stop and was working to pull clear, just out of DRS range, when his front suspension failed over the kerbs at the Ascari chicane.
From BBC • Sep. 7, 2025
A game consists of thirty points obtained by tricks alone, exclusive of any points counted for honors, chicane, slam, little slam, bonus or undertricks.
From Auction of To-day by Work, Milton C.
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.
