Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To let out or release (a line or an anchor train).
- intransitive verb To turn aside from a course or established direction; swerve.
- intransitive verb To deviate from a purpose, behavior, or previous pattern: synonym: swerve.
- intransitive verb To shift clockwise in direction, as from north to northeast. Used of the wind.
- intransitive verb Nautical To change the course of a ship by turning the stern to the wind while advancing to windward; wear ship.
- intransitive verb To alter the direction of; turn.
- intransitive verb Nautical To change the course of (a ship) by turning the stern windward.
- noun A change in direction; a swerve.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To turn; specifically, to alter the course of a ship, by turning her head round away from the wind; wear.
- To shift or change direction: as, the wind veers to the north; specifically, in meteorology, with respect to the wind, to shift in the same direction as the course of the sun—as, in the northern hemisphere, from east by way of south to west.
- To turn round; vary; be otherwise minded: said of persons, feelings, intentions, etc. See also
veering . - To turn; shift.
- Nautical, to change the course of by turning the stern to windward; lay on a different tack by turning the vessel's head away from the wind; wear: as, to
veer ship.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To direct to a different course; to turn; to wear.
- transitive verb (Naut.) to pull tight and slacken alternately.
- transitive verb (Naut.) to let out; to slacken and let run; to pay out.
- intransitive verb To change direction; to turn; to shift.
- intransitive verb (Naut.) to vary the course or direction; -- said of the wind, which
veers aft andhauls forward. The wind is also said toveer when it shifts with the sun.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
turn orswerve ; an instance of veering. - verb intransitive To
change direction orcourse suddenly; toswerve - verb intransitive, nautical to change direction into the wind; to
wear ship - verb transitive to
turn
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb shift to a clockwise direction
- verb turn sharply; change direction abruptly
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word veer.
Examples
-
But our courts seem to have not gotten the memo -- teachers who dare to veer from the scripted curriculum are at risk of being fired, and they will not find any protection from the law.
Kevin Welner: Teachers: Gagged but Accountable? Kevin Welner 2010
-
A veer in the wind induced them to slack off sheets, and five minutes afterward a sudden veer from the opposite quarter caught all three schooners aback, and those on shore could see the boom-tackles being slacked away or cast off on the jump.
THE HOUSE OF MAPUHI 2010
-
The images, which occupy dozens of amorphous panels, veer from the sweetly sentimental — the cartoon bunnies and kittens that fill his wife Whitney Ward's bedtime thoughts — to nightmarish visions grotesque enough to evoke both 1950s EC Comics and 15th-century Hieronymous Bosch.
The Walking Ghost of Old America Steve Dollar 2010
-
Sobel, rightly in my view, brings us back to the scientific truth of Galileo's observations; and whatever the reasoning and motives for Pope Urban VIII's pursuit of him, the fact remains that the ecclesiastical authorities were given all the right information and came up with the wrong answer, and while Sobel doesn't rub it in, she doesn't veer from the central point either.
August Books 29) Galileo's Daughter: A Drama of Science, Faith and Love, by Dava Sobel nwhyte 2009
-
But the subscription model will begin to show its age as development and service costs increase, and as audiences veer from the significant time and financial obligations these games command.
-
But our courts seem to have not gotten the memo -- teachers who dare to veer from the scripted curriculum are at risk of being fired, and they will not find any protection from the law.
Kevin Welner: Teachers: Gagged but Accountable? Kevin Welner 2010
-
The proceedings veer from the comically absurd to the fervently passionate as a host of unusual witnesses (Jeff Daniels, Mary Louise Parker, Treat Williams, Alessandro Nivola) pit generation against generation and art against fear in front of conservative Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban).
-
There are many people that veer from the straight and narrow that are capable of rehabilitation and every effort should be provided to assist them in acheiving this.
Another Form Of Relief « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2008
-
But as I veer from the 'tomboy/jeans/trainers/tshirt' to 'fairly feminine without being too girly' in my everyday life, I'm not always sure how to present myself in some science contexts.
Space Camp Barbie Peggy 2008
-
But why, if I'm a gamer who typically seeks out innovative titles that veer from the beaten path, did I allow myself to be influenced by the words of a few reviewers?
This Headline Will Not Pun On 'Faith' SVGL 2008
yarb commented on the word veer
Citation on towpath.
June 22, 2008
travismcdermott commented on the word veer
1582 N. LICHEFIELD tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. 73 And after that the winde verred sic to the Southwest they bare with the same.
July 29, 2008
bilby commented on the word veer
Toward the most pallid rim of cloudy noonday steering
Steadily, while the fluent glooms and grave
Lap us and lift, repulse, and pause—the wild and veering
Will of the loving and reluctant wave.
- John Hall Wheelock, 'Storm and Sun'.
September 22, 2009