[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/swerve.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / swerve

[← S](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/S/)

# swerve

«swerve» in Mova's school dictionary: **to change direction suddenly, especially to avoid hitting…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

verb (swerve, swerves, swerved, swerving); noun (a swerve, swerves)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To swerve is to change direction suddenly, especially to avoid hitting something: the car swerved to miss the dog. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/#m1)

2) A swerve is a sudden change of direction. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/#m2)

3) (UK, slang) To swerve something is to avoid it on purpose: I swerved that party. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In road safety lessons, cars and bikes may swerve, so look carefully before crossing. In sports, a ball can swerve in the air; a player swerves past a defender. In stories it shows sudden danger. Phrases: swerve to avoid, swerve off the road, make a swerve.

### examples

- The bus swerved to avoid a fallen tree. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/#x1)
- The cyclist swerved and nearly fell off. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/#x2)
- His free kick swerved into the top corner of the goal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/#x3)
- She swerved past two defenders and scored. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/#x4)
- The car made a sudden swerve. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/#x5)
- Never run into the road: a driver may not be able to swerve in time. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/#x6)
- I'm going to swerve the maths club today, said Leo (slang). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/#x7)

### note

Regular verb: swerved, swerving. Similar words: veer, turn sharply, dodge. The slang meaning «avoid» is UK teenage talk, not used in formal writing.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «swerve» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/swerve/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.