maneuver
Americannoun
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maneuvers
plural
-
a planned and regulated movement or evolution of troops, warships, etc.
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maneuvers, a series of tactical exercises usually carried out in the field by large bodies of troops in simulating the conditions of war.
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an act or instance of changing the direction of a moving ship, vehicle, etc., as required.
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an adroit move, skillful proceeding, etc., especially as characterized by craftiness; ploy.
political maneuvers.
verb (used with object)
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maneuvers,
present (3rd person singular)
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maneuvered,
past participle, past
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maneuvering
present participle
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to change the position of (troops, ships, etc.) by a maneuver.
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to bring, put, drive, or make by maneuvers.
He maneuvered his way into the confidence of the enemy.
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to manipulate or manage with skill or adroitness.
to maneuver a conversation.
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to steer in various directions as required.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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maneuversimple
-
maneuverssimple
-
have maneuveredperfect
-
has maneuveredperfect
-
am maneuveringprogressive
-
are maneuveringprogressive
-
is maneuveringprogressive
-
have been maneuveringperfect progressive
-
has been maneuveringperfect progressive
Past
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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
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"Rogue Wave," Vocabulary from the short story
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Touching Spirit Bear
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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.
See Examples For:
Some questions, which you should put to your adviser: How much room for maneuver do you have in your current federal tax bracket?
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
The cancellation was done through a maneuver known as a pocket rescission.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026
After prolonged exposure to the viscous fluid, they had become smaller and easier to deform, allowing them to maneuver through the narrow gaps between the device's microscopic pillars.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
While showing viewers how offensive players should hold the football to counter the maneuver , Watt encouraged Nantz to “give that a good punch.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
The Epic Ellison Girls exited the battle, their rogue robot in pursuit, their part of the maneuver complete.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
Limited overrides are permitted for merging or emergency maneuvers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
A long-planned 34-story apartment tower that would be the tallest building in West Hollywood has been approved by the Planning Commission as the city maneuvers to add housing on its east side.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
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
Scientists track pieces that are about softball-sized or larger using radar, and SpaceX maneuvers its satellites around them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
She was fascinated by the stories he had to tell her of historical troop movements and flanking maneuvers.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
Sabina politely maneuvered us to the front of the line in minutes with no shortage of side eye from other passengers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
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
Crane operators maneuvered twisted I-beams as if playing pick-up sticks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 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
At 3:00 p.m., in a light chop, the freshmen maneuvered their shell parallel to California’s, did their best to settle their minds into the boat, and waited for the start signal.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Maeve, meanwhile, is maneuvering to expand her own power.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
Hypersonic missiles fly at least five times the speed of sound and their velocity and maneuvering capabilities make detection more difficult.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
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
Dad, sitting in a chair and holding a walking stick as if it were a tiller, would bark out orders while maneuvering his imaginary craft around a tricky harbor.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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