veered

verb

past tense of veer
1
as in deviated
to change one's course or direction at this point the river veers to the southwest before finally emptying into the Atlantic Ocean

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in swung
to change the course or direction of (something) veered the ship abruptly to the right to avoid a collision

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in swerved
to depart abruptly from a straight line or course without warning the car veered to the left and into an oncoming truck

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 veered When the replacement arrived, the new cotton felt stiff, less breathable, and one side seam veered off at an angle, pulling the fabric awkwardly around my body. — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026 On the way back, a vehicle in the convoy veered off the road and fell into a ravine. — ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026 Though Tuesday’s green veered more forest and emerald-oriented, both the McQueen coat and Middleton’s Victoria Beckham suited style from Thursday showcased the range of green tones the British royal keeps on hand for her public engagements. — Julia Teti, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026 As Sony's lineup of portable audio devices has evolved over the years, it's veered towards more discerning listeners. — New Atlas, 19 Oct. 2026 After impact, the motorcycle veered off the right side of the highway through the gore of the exit ramp and into the rest area’s grassy median. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 13 Oct. 2026 Family members of the 39-year-old woman who was killed when a car veered off the road and into a Whittier burger restaurant earlier this week held a vigil to honor their lost loved one on Wednesday. — Nicole Comstock, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026 The vehicle veered off the road into multiple rocks on Saturday along Highway 1 near Deer Creek. — Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026 The vehicle Odom was driving veered into the eastbound lanes and struck another vehicle before crashing head-on into Schupp’s pickup truck. — Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for veered
  1. deviated
  2. swung
  3. swerved
  4. turned
  5. whipped
  6. cut
  7. circled
  8. wandered
Verb
  • But over time, due to a variety of systems issues with obtaining certain medications, the lethal injection protocol has deviated from the standard devised by Chapman.
    — M. Sara Rosenthal, STAT, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The Bengals deviated from strategy this offseason and paid for a defense.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of deviated
Verb
  • Fans at Capital One Arena swung white towels ecstatically after Justin Champagnie converted a shot — also drawing a foul — to give the Wizards a seven-point lead with just over eight minutes left.
    — Jake Kauderer, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The Chevrolet then swung into the southbound lanes of Columbia Avenue, where a gray 2010 Ford SUV hit it, Fifield said.
    — Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of swung
Verb
  • The couple swerved to miss the other driver, then hit a parked car.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Police say a black Honda pickup truck was traveling eastbound on Huron River and was preparing to turn left onto Stefano when a semi truck behind it swerved to the right and clipped the Honda truck, pushing it into oncoming traffic.
    — DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of swerved
Verb
  • Edwards and Ball combined for 17 points during that spurt, while the Heat missed six of nine shots and turned the ball over on four possessions.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • In that incident, surveillance footage — first reported by the Daily News — showed the fare-checkers pushing Brooklyn school aide Kyle Taylor up against a bus stop shelter following a fare dispute that had turned physical.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of turned
Verb
  • Brown became the leader of the House Trade Working Group, a caucus of Democratic representatives opposed to free-trade agreements who whipped votes on those deals.
    — Dan Kaufman, New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Fire crews scrambled late Saturday as fierce winds whipped flames beyond Canadian Forces Base Wainwright and into the surrounding rural area.
    — Rob Gillies, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of whipped
Verb
  • The defense once again gave the offense an opportunity, forcing an Argyle punt, and this time, Heritage capitalized with a 2-yard rushing TD from Vargas to cut the lead to 7 points.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Later that month, Achilles, a university lecturer, cut a campaign ad in the spirit of a tongue-in-cheek corporate training video on how to avoid starting a foreign war.
    — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of cut
Verb
  • Fittingly, the presentation featured models walking a path that circled around 10 horses inside a riding hall in the Bois de Boulogne.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
  • In Paris on Monday night, a police helicopter circled over Place de la Republique overnight, a central point in the weekend clashes, sweeping the square with a searchlight to check that the curfew was being observed.
    — Tom Nouvian, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of circled
Verb
  • Five burros were killed and a driver was injured when a herd wandered onto the 215 Freeway in 2020.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
  • At one point, McLoughlin even snubbed Sylvester Stallone, another Kennedy Center Honoree who had wandered into the bar.
    — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of wandered

Browse Nearby Words

veer
veered
veering
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Veered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/veered. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 grotesque

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