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Showing results for "manoeuvre"

manoeuvre

American  
[muh-noo-ver] / məˈnu vər /

noun

manoeuvred, manoeuvring
  1. Chiefly British. a variant of maneuver.


manoeuvre British  
/ məˈnuːvə /

noun

  1. a contrived, complicated, and possibly deceptive plan or action

    political manoeuvres

  2. a movement or action requiring dexterity and skill

    1. a tactic or movement of one or a number of military or naval units

    2. (plural) tactical exercises, usually on a large scale

  3. a planned movement of an aircraft in flight

  4. any change from the straight steady course of a ship

"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 contrive or accomplish with skill or cunning

  2. (intr) to manipulate situations, etc, in order to gain some end

    to manoeuvre for the leadership

  3. (intr) to perform a manoeuvre or manoeuvres

  4. to move or deploy or be moved or deployed, as military units, etc

"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

Etymology

Origin of manoeuvre

C15: from French, from Medieval Latin manuopera manual work, from Latin manū operāre to work with the hand

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.

There will be some hand-holding as you manoeuvre through the overwhelming crowds.

From BBC • Jul. 6, 2026

Addressing Willetts, she said: "You deliberately made a decision to ignore the rules of the road," adding that he had carried out "a highly dangerous manoeuvre" by riding the wrong way around the roundabout.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

That should allow more room for manoeuvre on very hot days.

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

BIS is also calling on governments to reduce their debt levels to help preserve central banks' room for manoeuvre in the case of economic shocks.

From Barron's • Jun. 28, 2026

He had seemed to oppose the windmill, simply as a manoeuvre to get rid of Snowball, who was a dangerous character and a bad influence.

From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell

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