careen

American  

[kuh-reen] / kəˈrin /

verb (used without object)

• careens,
  present (3rd person singular)
• careened,
  past participle,  past
• careening
  present participle

1. (of a vehicle) to lean, sway, or tip to one side while in motion.

   The car careened around the corner.

2. (of a ship) to heel over or list.

3. career.

4. South Midland U.S. to lean or bend away from the vertical position.

   The barn was careening a little.

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verb (used with object)

Nautical.

• careens,
  present (3rd person singular)
• careened,
  past participle,  past
• careening
  present participle

1. to cause (a ship) to lie over on a side, as for repairs or cleaning; heave down.

2. to clean or repair (a ship lying on its side for the purpose).

3. to cause (a ship) to heel over or list, as by the force of a beam wind.

noun

1. a careening.

2. Nautical. the position of a careened ship.

careen British  

/ kəˈriːn /

verb

1. to sway or cause to sway dangerously over to one side

2. (tr) nautical to cause (a vessel) to keel over to one side, esp in order to clean or repair its bottom

3. (intr) nautical (of a vessel) to keel over to one side

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• careenage
  noun
• careener
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• careening
  present
• careened
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• careen
  simple
• careens
  simple
• have careened
  perfect
• has careened
  perfect
• am careening
  progressive
• are careening
  progressive
• is careening
  progressive
• have been careening
  perfect progressive
• has been careening
  perfect progressive

Past

• careened
  simple
• had careened
  perfect
• was careening
  progressive
• were careening
  progressive
• had been careening
  perfect progressive

Future

• will careen
  simple
• will have careened
  perfect
• will be careening
  progressive
• will have been careening
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of careen

1585–95 careen for def. 9; < Middle French carine < Latin carīna keel, nutshell; akin to Greek káryon nut

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Explanation

Whether it’s an unsteady ship, a speeding bus, or a person who is woozy, use the verb careen to describe something that’s teetering from side to side. When the word careen first entered the English language in the sixteenth century, it was used to describe a beached ship that was turned on its side for repair. The word can still refer to making those kinds of nautical repairs, but now you’re more likely to hear the word used to describe something that is swaying from side to side. You may feel like a ship out of control if you careen madly through a crowd or if you careen down a steep hill on skis.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

careen careens careened careening

It’s not a fussy place, with bright lighting and no candles, an environment in which toddlers could, in theory, careen around.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

But you know what they say: When one door closes, a train is about to careen off the tracks and barrel right through it.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

Even the slightest misstep made me feel like I was about to careen out of control.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026

A daunting prospect after mechanical failure caused his Lotus car to careen into barriers at 160mph in Jerez in 1990.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

Chains of girls careen past, chanting We don’t stop for anybody.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

As the tram careens past, a delivery man can been seen leaping to safety from his bicycle, while a passerby also races out of the way.

From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026

And as a wild offseason coaching carousel careens towards its conclusion, Penn State is still desperately searching for a replacement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025

His experience, he said, has taught him how to mitigate the damage done when an opposing team member careens into you.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025

As the story careens through airports and post offices and New York’s hidey-holes, the cat-and-mouse chase is dizzyingly enjoyable, worthy of a Thomas Perry novel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2025

It glances off a shimmering purple shield, though, and careens off to the side.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

He was in the back seat of a Land Rover when it careened over an embankment and plunged down a hill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Bass has never lost an election and won’t easily fold, even as her first term has careened from one crisis to another.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Police were on scene Monday afternoon in Granada Hills after a Tesla driver lost control and careened into the Ali Baba Persian Restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2026

This year, somehow, I careened straight from verdant, crisp summer food — cucumber salads, crisp chicken Caesar wraps, yogurt bowls, smoothies — into the warm-orange-and-brown spectrum of winter.

From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025

Oranges and tin cans careened down the sidewalk.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

About an inch long, they’re hard to miss — and are known for careening into unsuspecting bystanders.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

But here’s what excites me most about the brave new world of mathematics the A.I. industry has us careening toward: We will have a much sharper sense of what the truly difficult problems are.

From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026

"I fear we are careening toward a future with fewer and fewer journalists to do the expensive, difficult work of original reporting," he said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026

How much can one film really change a world that seems like it’s careening faster and faster toward annihilation?

From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2026

A moment later he’s bounding into the kitchen fully dressed, as if he’d pulled on his clothes while careening down the steep wooden staircase of our drafty Victorian house.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman

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