maneuver
Americannoun
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a planned and regulated movement or evolution of troops, warships, etc.
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maneuvers, a series of tactical exercises usually carried out in the field by large bodies of troops in simulating the conditions of war.
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an act or instance of changing the direction of a moving ship, vehicle, etc., as required.
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an adroit move, skillful proceeding, etc., especially as characterized by craftiness; ploy.
political maneuvers.
verb (used with object)
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to change the position of (troops, ships, etc.) by a maneuver.
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to bring, put, drive, or make by maneuvers.
He maneuvered his way into the confidence of the enemy.
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to manipulate or manage with skill or adroitness.
to maneuver a conversation.
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to steer in various directions as required.
noun
Other Word Forms
- maneuverability noun
- maneuverable adjective
- maneuverer noun
- maneuvering noun
- unmaneuvered adjective
Etymology
Origin of maneuver
First recorded in 1470–80 for an earlier sense; 1750–60 for current noun sense; from French manoeuvre, Middle French manuevre “handwork,” derivative of Old French manuvrer, from Latin manū operāre “to do handwork,” equivalent to manū (ablative of manus “hand”) + operāre “to work” ( operate ); replacing earlier maanorre “manual labor,” Middle French, as above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a series of maneuvers fit for a John le Carré story, Mercader slowly ingratiated himself into the Trotsky household.
Countries are no longer maneuvering to maximize gains.
For 15 hair-raising minutes, the pilots struggled to evade a half-dozen surface-to-air missiles, spraying countermeasures and executing a series of high-G maneuvers.
And while the Eagles rode the maneuver to a Super Bowl, the rest of the league found it so aggravating and unsightly that certain teams pushed unsuccessfully last year to ban it from the game.
Ordinarily Rowdy wasn’t scared of snakes; that is, if he was out where he could maneuver around a little.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
