Veer

/vɪə̯/ · verb

Meaning

(obsolete, nautical) To let out (a sail-line), to allow (a sheet) to run out..

Definitions by Sense

1. (obsolete, nautical) To let out (a sail-line), to allow (a sheet) to run out.
2. A turn or swerve; an instance of veering.
3. (intransitive) To change direction or course suddenly; to swerve.
4. (intransitive, of the wind) To shift in a clockwise direction (if in the Northern Hemisphere, or in a counterclockwise direction if in the Southern Hemisphere).
5. (intransitive, nautical, of the wind) To shift aft.
6. (intransitive, nautical) To change direction into the wind; to wear ship.
7. (transitive) To turn.
8. (Cornwall) A piglet or a heifer.

Example Sentences

As when a skilfull Marriner doth reed / A storme approching, that doth perill threat, / He will not bide the daunger of such dread, / But strikes his sayles, and vereth his mainsheat, / And lends vnto it leaue the emptie ayre to beat.

[…] there is always a sudden, though small rise in the barometer, and a sudden drop of temperature of several degrees, sometimes as much as ten or fifteen degrees; there is also a sudden veer in the wind direction.

The car slid on the ice and veered out of control.

And as he leads, the following navy veers.

We are in a war of a peculiar nature. It is not with an ordinary community which is hostile or friendly as passion or as interest may veer about.

In recent years, the attitude of the railway authorities towards large-scale visits to works and sheds on the whole, has, happily, veered round from suspicion, and even point-blank opposition, to one of co-operation and ready welcome.

At this time in 2008, even as the global economy veered toward collapse, optimism about Washington ran surprisingly high.

As he neared a bridge over the East Coast Main Line near Great Heck, he lost control. His Land Rover left the carriageway and veered onto the hard shoulder before biting into the grass verge. [page 39] It ran derailed for about 500 yards before encountering a set of points, which caused it to veer into the path of an Immingham-Ferrybridge coal train, powered by Freightliner 66521 (one of a class of locomotive well-known for being well-built enough to destroy anything that got in its way).

Synonyms for veer

Antonyms for veer

Related Words

Word Forms

• veers
• veering
• veered

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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