swerve
Plural: swerves
Noun
- the act of turning aside suddenly
- an erratic deflection from an intended course
- A sudden movement out of a straight line, for example to avoid a collision.
- A deviation from duty or custom.
- Synonym of drift (“sideways movement imparted by spin bowler”).
Verb
Verb Forms: swerved, swerving, swerves
- To turn aside sharply from a straight course.
- turn sharply; change direction abruptly
- To stray; to wander; to rove.
- To go out of a straight line; to deflect.
- To wander from any line prescribed, or from a rule or duty; to depart from what is established by law, duty, custom, or the like; to deviate.
- To bend; to incline; to give way.
- To climb or move upward by winding or turning.
- To turn aside or deviate to avoid impact.
- Of a projectile, to travel in a curved line
- To drive in the trajectory of another vehicle to stop it, to cut off.
- To go out of one's way to avoid; to snub.
Examples
- He had to SWERVE his strategy after his opponent blocked his planned bingo.
- If I see that type o' muthafucka in the club I just swerve him.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English swerven, swarven, from Old English sweorfan (“to file; rub; polish; scour; turn aside”), from Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to rub off; wipe; mop”), from Proto-Indo-European *swerbʰ- (“to turn; wipe; sweep”). Cognate with West Frisian swerve (“to wander; roam; swerve”), Dutch zwerven (“to wander; stray; roam”), Low German swarven (“to swerve; wander; riot”), Swedish dialectal svärva (“to wipe”), Icelandic sverfa (“to file”).
Scrabble Score: 12
swerve: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordswerve: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
swerve: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary