swerve
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
-
to turn or cause to turn aside, usually sharply or suddenly, from a course
-
(tr) to avoid (a person or event)
noun
Related Words
See deviate.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of swerve
1175–1225; Middle English swerven (v.); Old English sweorfan to rub, file; cognate with Dutch zwerven to rove, Old High German swerban, Old Norse sverfa to file, Gothic afswairban to wipe off
Explanation
The noun swerve means a sudden turn off your path. As a verb, it means to move off your original route, possibly to avoid a collision. You can swerve either toward something or away from it. The word swerve can be traced to the Old English sweorfan, "to turn aside," which is precisely the modern sense. It was first used as a verb in the 13th century and as a noun in the 18th. Swerve refers to a sudden veering off, perhaps not as sharp as a turn, but more a bending of your path. Think of the trajectory as an arc or curve, and remember that swerve rhymes with curve.
Vocabulary lists containing swerve
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Walk Two Moons
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Bridge to Terabithia
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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.
The game nailed his short-step stuttering free-kick run-up and ability to belt a ball with whip and swerve off the outside of his boot.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
I want to swerve here to talk about the word that keeps coming to mind when I look at the president’s leadership, and it is “mood.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
Still, I’ve decided to simply embrace my butt, even with its quirky swerve.
From Slate • Feb. 22, 2026
The brewer said early last month that production at six beer factories had resumed, while it was processing orders by hand in an effort to swerve potential drinks shortages.
From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025
Kevin, meanwhile, was someone who swerved—who even relished the swerve.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
