Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
📚 A large number 🚗 To slide sideways
to slew

to slew

15 7.6
To slide or turn sideways suddenly, often out of control
  • verb
  • /sluː/
translation icon : derrapar
  • Why aren't you looking?" And the green Porsche slewed around the fire engine, jolted to a stop.

Examples

  • I could hear the wheel sliding, and it slew around and back and whirled.

  • With the Lincoln now inside it, the coach then slewed sideways and crashed into several other vehicles.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • After a short distance, it slewed around a sharp hairpin turn and continued to climb.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The rear of her car slews off onto the grass verge, almost comes back, then loses traction completely.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Nothando heard a loud crash as the pink Renault slewed off the highway into Rissik Street.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Soon they became jealous of each other, and Romulus slew Remus and named the settlement after himself—Rome.

    Academic text (2004)

  • In front of them, the horses slewed and vaulted for footing, plunging through drifts that obscured the road.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Boyle already had his pistol out as the limo fishtailed, slewed, and slammed into a streetlight post.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The truck slewed to the left, narrowly avoiding a crash with the guardrail.

  • As the car traveled over the icy road, it suddenly slewed, causing the driver to lose control.

Synonyms

to slide
vsto slew
716 1.0

To move smoothly along a surface

means a sudden sideways movement or turn rather than a controlled smooth glide
to slip
vsto slew
503 2.3

To move quietly and easily, often without being noticed

is a sudden sideways slide or turn not merely a smooth unnoticed motion
to veer
vsto slew
63 4.2

To change direction suddenly

is about sudden sideways sliding or turning rather than general direction shifts
to pitch
vsto slew
53 5.1

To tilt or fall suddenly, often in a vehicle

describes sideways sliding or turning rather than just tilting or falling
to lurch
vsto slew
34 5.6

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

focuses specifically on abrupt sideways sliding or turning not general unsteady motion
to list
vsto slew
32 8.8

To tilt to one side, often describing a ship

implies a sudden sideways slide or turn rather than a slow lean
to curve
vsto slew
22 2.8

To bend into a smooth, rounded shape

means a sudden sideways movement or turn not a smooth regular bend
swerve
vsto slew
7 3.7

A sudden sharp turn to avoid something

is typically uncontrolled sudden sideways movement rather than an intentional avoidance turn
to skid
vsto slew
3 3.5

To slide sideways without control, usually when a car's wheels lose grip on a slippery road

can include sudden turns not only sliding from lost traction
to sheer
vsto slew
1 7.8

Turn away suddenly to avoid something

focuses on sudden sideways sliding or loss of control rather than deliberate avoidance
to swing about
vsto slew
1 4.8

To turn quickly to face another direction or change your opinion suddenly

involves sudden sideways sliding or uncontrolled turning rather than deliberate rotation
sideslip
vsto slew
  • Specialized
8.6

A sudden sideways slide of a car or plane on wet ground

is broader covering sudden sideways turns as well as slides

Antonyms

control
∞ 2.8

Ability to direct your body or its parts so they move as you want

to stabilize
  • US
197 3.7

To make something steady so it stops moving or falling

How Sudden

to careen
20 7.7
to skid
3 3.5
to slew
15 7.6
to swerve
61 2.8
to veer
63 4.2
turn
485 1.0
to drift
331 2.9

Surface Forms

slew infinitive
slewed past
slewed past participle
slewing present participle
slews third person singular

Etymology

A helpful way to remember the verb slew is to think of the familiar words slip or slide, because it means to 'turn or slide sideways'. So when a car slews, it suddenly moves sideways, often without control.