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
A number of drivers ran wide during the session, and the red flag was as a result of Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar running off track at the Ascari chicane and spraying the circuit with gravel.
From BBC • Sep. 5, 2025
Russell ended the session parked on the grass beside the track before the Roggia chicane as a result of a power loss, which left him stuck in seventh gear with the rear wheels locked.
From BBC • Sep. 5, 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
But this new piece of chicane may stimulate our zeal in unravelling what we believe to have been a foul plot.
From Trevethlan (Vol 3 of 3) A Cornish Story. by Watson, William Davy
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.
