TOP

Definition of veer verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

veer

verb
 
/vɪə(r)/
 
/vɪr/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they veer
 
/vɪə(r)/
 
/vɪr/
he / she / it veers
 
/vɪəz/
 
/vɪrz/
past simple veered
 
/vɪəd/
 
/vɪrd/
past participle veered
 
/vɪəd/
 
/vɪrd/
-ing form veering
 
/ˈvɪərɪŋ/
 
/ˈvɪrɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. [intransitive] + adv./prep. (especially of a vehicle) to change direction suddenly synonym swerve
    • The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road.
    • It is still not clear why the missile veered off course.
    Extra Examples
    • He veered left towards them.
    • The car veered off the road.
    • The missile veered wildly off course.
    • The path veers sharply to the right.
    • The plane veered away to the left.
    • The ship veered round wildly in the rough sea.
    Topics Transport by car or lorryc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • sharply
    • wildly
    • (to the) left
    preposition
    • between
    • from
    • off
    phrases
    • veer close to something
    See full entry
  2. [intransitive] + adv./prep. (of a conversation or way of behaving or thinking) to change in the way it develops
    • The debate veered away from the main topic of discussion.
    • His emotions veered between fear and anger.
    Extra Examples
    • The play veers from loopy comedy to serious moralizing.
    • His poetry veered dangerously close to sentimentalism.
    • He veered between the extremes of optimism and pessimism.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • sharply
    • wildly
    • (to the) left
    preposition
    • between
    • from
    • off
    phrases
    • veer close to something
    See full entry
  3. [intransitive] + adv./prep. (specialist) (of the wind) to change direction
    • The wind veered to the west.
  4. Word Originlate 16th cent.: from French virer, perhaps from an alteration of Latin gyrare, from Greek guros ‘a ring’.
See veer in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
indeed
adverb
 
 
From the Word list
OPAL spoken words
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day