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Glite Dictionary
to change course

to change course

41 3.7
Turn a ship to a new direction to avoid danger
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : cambiar de rumbo
  • Mr. Brook, we're changing course.
  • change course quickly

So we changed course, started heading towards the the objective about one minute out.

Examples

  • They've changed course, now headed north, northeast.

    Cold Harvest (1999)

  • The ship began to change course, steering away from the shallows.

  • And if you can change course, then do that.

  • Tell him to change course.

    Eraser (1996)

  • An enemy control boat has changed course and is heading for our people.

    Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)

  • Change course to zero-90 degrees for ten minutes!

    Drain the Bermuda Triangle (2014)

  • For his sake, for his party's sake and in the national interest, the Chancellor needs to change course and he needs to do so now.

  • His boat suddenly changes course and the two skiers collide, flying onto the ice.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Administrations, regardless of their initial ideologies, often change course to adjust to public opinion.

    Academic text (2001)

  • They changed course.

    Wasp Network (2020)

Synonyms

to divert
vsto change course
94 4.2

To cause something like traffic or a river to go a different way

is a self-directed vessel maneuver rather than an externally caused change
to reroute
vsto change course
47 3.6

To send something along a different path

is an immediate vessel maneuver to alter heading rather than change a planned route
to reorient
vsto change course
8 5.6

To change the direction or main focus of something

is specifically a vessel movement to alter its heading rather than general repositioning
to tack
vsto change course
  • Specialized
7 8.1

Turn a boat's bow into and across the wind to change direction

is any change of direction not only turning the bow through the wind
to jibe
vsto change course
  • Specialized
1 9.6

To move a sail or boat quickly from one side to the other when sailing with the wind

is a broader change of direction that may be gradual rather than sudden
to jib
vsto change course
  • Specialized
9.9

To move suddenly from one side of a boat to the other, usually about a sail or boom

is a general course change not limited to abrupt sail shifts
to wear ship
vsto change course
  • Specialized
9.9

Turn a sailing boat away from the wind by moving the back through the wind, not the front

is a general shift in direction rather than the stern-first method

Antonyms

to stick to the plan
21 3.0

Continue doing what everyone agreed without changing it

to hold steady
17 2.9

Keep something or someone in place and still

How Sharp

to veer
63 4.2
to change course
41 3.7
turn
485 1.0

Surface Forms

change course infinitive
changed course past
changed course past participle
changing course present participle
changes course third person singular

Morphology

change + course

The meaning 'to alter direction' is directly derivable from combining 'change' (to alter) with 'course' (route or heading); the components compose in a straightforward, literal way. This motion/route construction is cross-linguistically common and follows normal English verb + noun composition, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The verb change course comes from ships: when a captain turns the wheel the ship moves onto a new course, so people literally change direction. That's why it means 'to alter direction', especially of a vessel.