swerve
Americanverb (used without object)
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swerves,
present (3rd person singular)
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swerved,
past participle, past
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swerving
present participle
verb (used with object)
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swerves,
present (3rd person singular)
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swerved,
past participle, past
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swerving
present participle
noun
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swerves
plural
verb
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to turn or cause to turn aside, usually sharply or suddenly, from a course
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(tr) to avoid (a person or event)
noun
Synonym Usage
See deviate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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swervernoun
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unswervingnessnoun
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swervableadjective
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unswervedadjective
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unswervingadjective
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unswervinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swervesimple
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swervessimple
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have swervedperfect
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has swervedperfect
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am swervingprogressive
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are swervingprogressive
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is swervingprogressive
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have been swervingperfect progressive
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has been swervingperfect progressive
Past
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swervedsimple
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had swervedperfect
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was swervingprogressive
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were swervingprogressive
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had been swervingperfect progressive
Future
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
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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.
See Examples For:
The selection is a bit of a swerve from Gap campaigns featuring far more established music artists from Madonna to Missy Elliott.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 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
The footage shows the oncoming bus is forced to swerve into the adjacent lane to avoid hitting the woman.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
But things can just swerve health-wise—well, anytime in life, but especially for octogenarians.
From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2026
They swerve and cross the length of the field, tour its perimeter, and then swing back around.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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
And so what happens on a day-to-day basis, there are enormous swerves in what one should expect for the United States in particular.
From Slate ● Mar. 11, 2026
Like the time Gabriel spends in Faith’s company, “The Predicament” is full of “sparks and kicks and swerves and percussions.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2025
I kick at him and he swerves to the side, almost falling.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
His words have swerved through claims of victory to threats of annihilating Iranian civilisation to support for negotiations.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Clayton testified that Erickson told him that he and Grossman were “flying down” Triunfo Canyon Road when he swerved to avoid two boys in the crosswalk.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
The driver of the pickup truck then tried to edge off to the side of the road, Budensiek said, and Woods swerved to avoid a collision.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
A decade ago, Newsom and Harris swerved to keep their careers from colliding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
Wolf swerved to investigate something, and Torak was instantly alert.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Hall was pulled over by a police officer after the Vauxhall was seen swerving near junction 42.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Given his track record as a pop hitmaker, it was reasonable to wonder if Ms. Bridgers might be swerving toward the mainstream.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
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
Images circulating on social media showed the truck performing a wheelie before swerving off the track and crashing into the barriers separating the public from the track.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
He saw the gorgons swooping down, cars swerving as the monsters passed overhead.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
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.
