swerve

American  

[swurv] / swɜrv /

verb (used without object)

• swerves,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swerved,
  past participle,  past
• swerving
  present participle

1. to turn aside abruptly in movement or direction; deviate suddenly from the straight or direct course.

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verb (used with object)

• swerves,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swerved,
  past participle,  past
• swerving
  present participle

1. to cause to turn aside.

   Nothing could swerve him.

noun

• swerves
  plural

1. an act of swerving; turning aside.

swerve British  

/ swɜːv /

verb

1. to turn or cause to turn aside, usually sharply or suddenly, from a course

2. (tr) to avoid (a person or event)

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noun

1. the act, instance, or degree of swerving

Synonym Usage

See deviate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• swerver
  noun
• unswervingness
  noun
• swervable
  adjective
• unswerved
  adjective
• unswerving
  adjective
• unswervingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• swerves
  plural

Participles

• swerving
  present
• swerved
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• swerve
  simple
• swerves
  simple
• have swerved
  perfect
• has swerved
  perfect
• am swerving
  progressive
• are swerving
  progressive
• is swerving
  progressive
• have been swerving
  perfect progressive
• has been swerving
  perfect progressive

Past

• swerved
  simple
• had swerved
  perfect
• was swerving
  progressive
• were swerving
  progressive
• had been swerving
  perfect progressive

Future

• will swerve
  simple
• will have swerved
  perfect
• will be swerving
  progressive
• will have been swerving
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

swerve swerves swerved swerving

Ford’s “iconic” swerve: CEO Jim Farley is culling the automaker’s broad lineup of often “boring” models to focus on the “iconic vehicle” business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

The views were spectacular, if you had the guts to swerve your eyes from the white-knuckling road.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

But things can just swerve health-wise—well, anytime in life, but especially for octogenarians.

From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2026

There was no attempt to use the brakes, the court heard, with Malik's only evasive action being to swerve to the left but "far too late".

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026

Nobody seemed to notice her, although people did swerve away and look confused when she came close.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

There are a number of weird swerves in this generous, if convoluted, offer from your relative.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

We should be so lucky to experience a film that swerves just when we think we’ve made up our minds.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

Riders and drivers took increasingly elaborate swerves to avoid the wince-inducing jolts of a full-on pothole clunk.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

Throw in a stricter whistle from referees, who are less inclined to award fouls when Harden swerves out of the way to draw contact, and basketball’s great machine goes haywire.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

A motorcycle swerves round me on its way to the mansion.

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

His words have swerved through claims of victory to threats of annihilating Iranian civilisation to support for negotiations.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

It said Wilburn “likely recognized the Tesla as a hazard” about a second before the crash, at which point he swerved his steering wheel to the right and applied the brakes.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026

The pickup truck driver tried to edge off to the side of the road, but Woods swerved and clipped the back end of the trailer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026

A decade ago, Newsom and Harris swerved to keep their careers from colliding.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026

The Buick swerved back and forth as I steered it through one curve after another.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

And Alonzo’s Anne and Zach Trent’s Skateboard Fenton, the young lovers swerving around parental obstacles, are a delightful throwback to those gaga California kids from the age of “Gidget.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

He was seen earlier veering into the grass verge of the eastbound carriageway between junctions 6 and 5, as well as swerving between lanes.

From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026

Sometimes, a swerving behind can be a fortuitous red flag, signaling hidden spinal defects before expensive MRIs are required.

From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2026

Barcelona knew they needed to win to be confident of swerving the play-off round, but fell behind as early as the fourth minute.

From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026

Rindlisbacher started looking for witnesses; the local cop showed him to Kaiserman, who was sitting in the back of an ambulance and gave the trooper his account of the swerving Chevy Tahoe.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

• deflect
• lurch
• skid
• stray
• veer