careen

American Heritage Dictionary:

ca·reen

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(kə-rēn')

v., -reened, -reen·ing, -reens.

v.intr.

To lurch or swerve while in motion.
To rush headlong or carelessly; career: "He careened through foreign territories on a desperate kind of blitz" (Anne Tyler).
Nautical.
1. To lean to one side, as a ship sailing in the wind.
2. To turn a ship on its side for cleaning, caulking, or repairing.

v.tr. Nautical

To cause (a ship) to lean to one side; tilt.
1. To lean (a ship) on one side for cleaning, caulking, or repairing.
2. To clean, caulk, or repair (a ship in this position).

n. Nautical

The act or process of careening a ship.
The position of a careened ship.

[From French (en) carène, (on) the keel, from Old French carene, from Old Italian carena, from Latin carīna.]

careener ca·reen'er n.

USAGE NOTE The implication of rapidity that most often accompanies the use of careen as a verb of motion may have arisen naturally through the extension of the nautical sense of the verb to apply to the motion of automobiles, which generally careen, that is, lurch or tip over, only when driven at high speed. There is thus no reason to conclude that this use of the verb is the result of a confusion of careen with career, "to rush." Whatever the origin of this use, however, it is by now so well established that it would be pedantic to object to it.

careen

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is originally a nautical word (recorded by the geographer Hakluyt in 1600) referring to the tilting or turning over of a ship, either at sea or in dock for repairs. In American English careen has developed the meaning 'hurtle or rush headlong':

A lot of Russians careening along the road on liberated bicycles—H. Roosenburg, 1957

The van careened across the road, almost running into the ditch—B. Moore, 1987.

In this use it has been influenced by the similar-sounding but unrelated word career, which is the standard word for this meaning in British English.

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Oxford Dictionary of the US Military:

careen

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[kǝܒrēn]

kǝˈrēn v. 1. turn (a ship) on its side for cleaning, caulking, or repair.

2. (of a ship) tilt; lean over: a heavy flood tide caused my vessel to careen dizzily.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'careen'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier

For a list of words related to careen, see:

Mood and Intent - careen: swerve from side to side while moving forward

Rhymes:

careen

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Home > Library > Literature & Language > Rhymes

See words rhyming with "careen."

Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:

careen

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Home > Library > Literature & Language > Crossword Clues

See crossword solutions for the clue Careen.

Translations:

Careen

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Home > Library > Literature & Language > Translations

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - blive kølhalet, slingre
v. tr. - kølhale, få til at krænge
n. - kølhaling

Nederlands (Dutch)
kielkade, kieling, voortrazen, kielen, (doen) overhellen

Français (French)
v. intr. - se coucher sur le côté (un bateau)
v. tr. - abattre (qch) en carène (un bateau)
n. - carène

Deutsch (German)
v. - (Seew.) kielholen, torkeln, rasen
n. - (Seew.) Kielholen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - (ναυτ.) τροπίζω, πλαγιάζω για επισκευές

Italiano (Italian)
carenare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - querenar, inclinar-se

Русский (Russian)
крениться, нестись

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - moverse con rapidez y sin control, inclinarse
v. tr. - escorar, carenar, dar a la banda
n. - carena, carenadura

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - kölhala, kränga

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
倾侧, 摇晃着行驶, 倾斜, 使倾侧, 倾, 船的倾侧

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 傾側, 搖晃著行駛
v. tr. - 傾斜, 使傾側, 傾
n. - 船的傾側

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 기울어지다
v. tr. - 배를 기울이다
n. - 배를 기울임, 경선

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 傾く, 傾ける
n. - 傾船, 傾船修理

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يميل, ينحرف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮הטה על הצד, נע במהירות ובטלטולים, נטה, היטלטל, תוקנה (אוניה)‬
v. tr. - ‮הטה על הצד, שיפץ (אוניה), היטה‬
n. - ‮אוניה נוטה על צדה‬

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American Heritage Dictionary The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read