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to careen

to careen

20 7.7
Move quickly and out of control, often from side to side
  • verb
  • /kəˈrin/
translation icon : dar bandazos
  • A cop sees the speeding caravan as it careens around a corner.
  • a car careening
  • careening out of control

And the ball hit the left upright and careened in for the win.

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Examples

  • If you're driving on ice, you're going to careen into the guard rails, right?

  • In cars, in cabs, we careened through the city; there must have been hundreds of us.

    Academic text (2008)
  • And so this means you lose your mom or a dad and you know, the whole family sort of careens out of control.

  • You are careening towards suspension!

  • At the current rate of global warming, the earth's temperature stands to careen out of control.

    Academic text (2009)
  • It won't budget when you careen off the road in your car.

  • At the edge of town, the BMW careened onto a black asphalt road.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Shanell Anderson was delivering newspapers in the dark when she careened into this pond.

  • And here comes a pickup truck, patented squealing tires as it careens around a corner.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The car careened around the corner, narrowly missing the tree.

Synonyms

to tumble
vsto careen
88 2.9

To fall or roll suddenly, often turning over

moves fast and uncontrolled rather than falling or turning
to stagger
vsto careen
49 4.0

Walk in an unsteady way as if about to fall

is quicker and uncontrolled rather than caused by weakness or tiredness
to wobble
vsto careen
40 3.8

To move or shake unsteadily from side to side

is faster and more out of control rather than gentle shaking
to lurch
vsto careen
34 5.6

To move suddenly and unsteadily, often forward or to one side

moves fast and uncontrolled often from side to side
to reel
vsto careen
16 4.6

To move in an unsteady way as if about to fall

is more rapid and side to side rather than slow almost falling motion
to wamble
vsto careen
  • Archaic
9.9

To move unsteadily while rolling from side to side

is quicker and less regular rather than a slow weave or roll

Antonyms

75 4.3

To become steady and stop changing

41 3.4

To make yourself or something stop moving

How Uncontrolled

to crash
481 2.2
to barrel
  • Informal
24 4.6
to careen
20 7.7
to reel
16 4.6
to lurch
34 5.6
to sway
77 2.4

Surface Forms

careen infinitive
careened past
careened past participle
careening present participle
careens third person singular

Etymology

The word careen comes from an old word for the ship's keel 'the bottom part of a ship', carina, and first meant to tip a ship onto its side for cleaning. From that image of a ship leaning over, careen came to mean moving quickly and out of control, which is why we now say a car or person can 'careen' across the road.