swerve
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to change direction very quickly while driving or moving to avoid hitting something.
v.to deviate suddenly from a straight course, typically in order to avoid a collision.
Simple“The driver had to swerve to avoid a cat that ran into the road.”
In context“The cyclist was forced to swerve sharply into the breakdown lane to avoid a car door that had been opened without warning.”
UsageIntransitive; often followed by 'to avoid' or 'into'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
v.to stay away from someone or something you do not like or want to deal with.
v.to deliberately avoid, snub, or bypass a person, social obligation, or situation.
Simple“I decided to swerve the party because I knew my ex-boyfriend would be there.”
In context“He tried to swerve the difficult conversation by pretending he had an urgent phone call to take.”
UsageTransitive; takes a direct object (the person or event being avoided).
Teacher's tipThis sense is common in British slang; learners should be aware it sounds very informal and slightly dismissive.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a quick, sharp turn to one side while moving.
n.an act of swerving; a sudden change of direction.
Simple“A sudden swerve of the bus sent several passengers sliding across their seats.”
In context“The pilot managed a controlled swerve on the runway to stay clear of the debris left by the previous aircraft.”
“Union officials will push for JLR to swerve compulsory job losses in favour of retraining or voluntary redundancy where possible.”
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”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.