careen

1 of 2

verb

ca·​reen kə-ˈrēn 

careened; careening; careens

transitive verb

1

: to put (a ship or boat) on a beach especially in order to clean, caulk, or repair the hull

2

: to cause to heel over

High waves careened the boat.

intransitive verb

1

a

: to clean, caulk, or repair the hull of a boat

b

: to undergo this process

2

: to heel over

3

: to sway from side to side : lurch

a careening carriage being pulled wildly … by a team of runaway horses

—J. P. Getty

4

: career

The car careened down the hill.

careen

2 of 2

noun

archaic

: the act or process of careening : the state of being careened

Did you know?

Careen and Career

Some people might be confused by the warning to not confuse careen and career, because the most common sense of career ("a profession") is not much like any of the meanings of careen. But when employed as a verb, career does have some semantic overlap with careen; both words may be used to mean "to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner." A car, for instance, may either careen or career. Some usage guides hold, however, that the car is only careening if there is side-to-side motion, as careen has other meanings related to movement, among which is "to sway from side to side."

Synonyms

Verb

• lurch
• pitch
• rock
• roll
• seesaw
• sway
• toss
• wobble
• wabble

Examples of careen in a Sentence

Verb

the sled careened as it barreled down the hill

he careened unsteadily to the couch after hitting his head

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

As their affections grow more passionate, so do the flames of hatred between their respective families, sending the couple careening down an increasingly deadly path. —EW.com, 25 Oct. 2024

The vehicle appears to have smashed through the barrier and careened off the roadway, ultimately killing the driver. —Kris Van Cleave, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2024

Noun

As local government careens from one corruption scandal to the next, the city and county of Los Angeles each charged forward this election season with ballot measures to try to crack down on unethical behavior by public officials. —Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2024

But the company has since opted to let the wheels very gradually come off the car over several weeks before the app careens into a ditch and stops working altogether. —Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 15 May 2021

Word History

Etymology

Verb

from carine side of a ship, from Middle French, submerged part of a hull, from Latin carina hull, half of a nutshell; perhaps akin to Greek karyon nut

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1583, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1712, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

careen

verb

ca·​reen

kə-ˈrēn

1

: to cause a boat to lean or tilt over on one side for cleaning or repairing

2

: to sway from side to side

3

: career entry 2