careen

verb

kə-ˈrēn How to pronounce careen (audio)
Definition of careennext
1
as in to lurch
to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions the sled careened as it barreled down the hill

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to stagger
to move forward while swaying from side to side he careened unsteadily to the couch after hitting his head

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to scurry
to proceed or move quickly sounding its siren, an ambulance careened through the intersection

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of careen But alas, eventually all involved have to get down to business and actually contend with the plot beats of Hoover’s story, which is when the movie careens off a cliff, plummeting past so-bad-it’s-good and crashing on the rocks of agonizingly dumb. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026 Rules like this, almost certainly, will come into play as AI leaders Anthropic and OpenAI careen toward trillion-dollar-plus IPOs. — Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026 And at twilight, New Orleans bandleader and composer Jon Batiste delivered a contagious tour-de-force of joy and struggle, careening from ragtime classics to contemporary numbers. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2026 In moments, the two cars are careening along an autocross course amidst a backdrop of billowing smoke—a cacophony of screaming engines and tires accompanies as soundtrack to the precise automotive choreography. — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for careen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for careen
  1. lurch
  2. stagger
  3. scurry
  4. sway
  5. weave
  6. speed
  7. rock
  8. hurry
Verb
  • The insurrection drew immediate and obvious parallels to the United States, which, during much of the past decade, has lurched alongside Brazil through a strange hall of mirrors.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Hop on the #6 double-decker from Central to Stanley beach, which lurches around Hong Kong Island's mountainous southern South China Sea coast (sit upstairs on the right-hand side).
    — Lee Cobaj, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of lurch
Verb
  • Spoelstra staggered Adebayo and Antetokounmpo’s minutes with these bench lineups.
    — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
  • However, data from Agence France Tresor shows that the average maturity of French debt stands at roughly 8 years and 158 days, with debt redemptions relatively well staggered.
    — , CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of stagger
Verb
  • Hundreds of workers will be scurrying around the downtown arena each day, ensuring the marathon run of events unfolds smoothly.
    — Savannah Sicurella, AJC.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The Off Campus duo, Emma Watson, Hunter Schafer, Chase Infiniti, and Tyriq Withers, who all scurried off together to continue the already-memorable night elsewhere.
    — Kelsey Stewart, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of scurry
Verb
  • The most sensual scene in the movie is actually a dance number at a public gathering where the two characters slowly sway and caress each other, much to the horror and confusion of the other townsfolk.
    — Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • This phenomenon has similarly been demonstrated in prediction markets, which have been shown to sway voters almost as much as polls.
    — Connor Greene, Time, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of sway
Verb
  • Eller took a long pass from Aaron Ekblad just inside the blue line, weaved down the right side and ripped a wrist shot from the circle past Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The Chiefs had no answer for Smith-Njigba, who bobbed and weaved his way through the defense for nine catches, 150 yards and a touchdown.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of weave
Verb
  • Researchers have identified a new bacterial enzyme that speeds up the breakdown of polyesters and bioplastics.
    — Muskan Bhatia, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Several commissioners hope First & Early could speed up the project timeline.
    — Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of speed
Verb
  • While protests in France have claimed most international attention, large demonstrations are also rocking many European cities Saturday from Milan to Madrid, Lisbon and Tirana.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • But beyond artsy activities, this tablet also rocks powerful performance thanks to 8GB of expandable memory and 256GB of local storage.
    — Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of rock
Verb
  • On a tight end screen with 8 minutes and 48 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the Falcons’ 31-23 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Daniels hurried downhill and tackled Bears standout Colston Loveland.
    — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Jeff Boschee had no desire to head out of town, to hurry back to Pittsburg, Kansas, after his Pittsburg State Gorillas’ 80-62 Late Night in the Phog exhibition loss to Kansas on Friday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
    — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of hurry

Browse Nearby Words

cared (for)
careen
careened
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Careen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/careen. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on careen

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about careen

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All