Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
swerving

swerving

2 4.0
A sudden change of direction to avoid something
  • noun
  • /ˈswɜrvɪŋ/
translation icon : desviación
  • They were driving without lights, but with a penlight, the navigator kept track of their swerving passage, correcting every time a gully or defile forced them to divert several kilometers.
  • swerving car

And when we're talking about free will, I make the mistake of attributing something to Democritus about random swerves of atoms.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • After the tire blew out, the driver struggled with the swerving of the vehicle.

  • The driver's dangerous swerving on a public road was a breach of the peace in the agent's presence that authorized an arrest under Texas statutory law, the Fifth Circuit held.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Have you ever been behind a slow or swerving driver who was using their cell phone?

    Academic text (2013)

  • After the swerving, when I saw that she was OK, I thought my heart might stop.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • There was that moment of swerving and squealing brakes.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • There are high-pressure, busy parts of driving (passing, avoiding a swerving car) and there are the quiet parts (driving straight along a road with no immediate dangers).

    Blog text (7)

  • At the same time, we have been accelerating, getting into a situation where sudden braking or swerving could seriously injure the car's occupants and wreck the car.

    Blog text (32)

  • The sudden swerving of the car startled the pedestrians on the sidewalk.

  • We narrowly avoided an accident due to the other car's swerving around an obstacle.

Synonyms

swerve
vsswerving
7 3.7

A sudden sharp turn to avoid something

is broader, covering reactions and less sharply angled turns
deflection
vsswerving
4 6.0

How much an object bends or moves away from a straight line

is an active sudden change done to avoid something or as a reaction
veering
vsswerving
1 5.3

A sudden change of direction while moving

is used for turns made specifically to avoid something or as a reaction

How Sharp

swerving
2 4.0
turn
485 1.0

Surface Forms

swerving singular
swervings plural

Morphology

swerving = swerve (transparent) = swerve + ing

Derived directly from the verb 'swerve' with the deverbal '-ing' forming the action or gerund, a standard and clear formation for learners.

Etymology

Swerving comes from an old English word that meant 'turn aside' or 'move away'. So imagine a quick, unexpected turn to avoid something, and you have the sense of swerving as a sudden change of direction.