manoeuvre

American  

[muh-noo-ver] / məˈnu vər /

noun

manoeuvred, manoeuvring

1. Chiefly British. a variant of maneuver.

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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

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

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

4. a planned movement of an aircraft in flight

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

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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

Other Word Forms

• manoeuvrability
  noun
• manoeuvrable
  adjective
• manoeuvrer
  noun
• manoeuvring
  noun

Etymology

Origin of manoeuvre

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

Example Sentences

This manoeuvre brought the two planes very close to each other.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

"PC Brealey remained leaning into the driver's window during this manoeuvre."

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

This manoeuvre was authorised, head of the Swiss armaments department, Urs Loher told Swiss media.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

O'Shea said: "If you've got a situation where the Exchequer takes four fifths of what you're making, I'm not sure there's much more room for manoeuvre."

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

They learned how to build and manoeuvre ocean-going vessels and became long-distance fishermen, traders and explorers.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari