Meaning & use
veer
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To turn suddenly away from a straight path or an expected direction.
Grammar: No object follows it; often followed by off, away or toward: the car veered off the road.
Patterns
- veer off something
- veer toward something
- veer away from something
The car veered across the lane to avoid a deer.
A cyclist veered toward the curb when the bus passed.
The ball veered left at the last moment.
verbintransitivefigurative
To change gradually from one subject, opinion or plan to another.
Grammar: No object follows; often followed by into, toward or off: the talk veered into politics.
Patterns
- veer toward something
- veer off topic
- veer into something
The conversation veered into politics, and everyone went quiet.
Her opinions veered toward the extreme after the election.
The speaker veered off topic and talked about her childhood.
verbintransitivetechnical
Of wind, to shift clockwise in direction.
Grammar: Used with wind as the subject: the wind veered east.
Patterns
- the wind veers
Around noon the wind veered to the north-west.
Sailors noticed the wind had veered overnight.
Word forms
| third person singular | veers |
|---|---|
| past tense | veered |
| past participle | veered |
| -ing form | veering |
Common combinations
- veer off course
- The plane veered off course in the strong wind.
- veer to the left
- The road veers to the left after the bridge.
- veer off the road
- The truck veered off the road and into a field.
- veer away from
- The party has veered away from its original values.
- veer off topic
- Let's not veer off topic during the meeting.
- veer sharply
- The boat veered sharply to avoid the rocks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- swerve
- Swerve describes a quick, sudden turn, often to avoid something, while veer can be slower or part of a gradual change.
- deviate
- Deviate is more formal and often applies to rules or plans rather than moving objects.
- stray
- Stray suggests wandering away without intending to, but veer can be a sharper change.
- drift
- Drift implies a slow, uncontrolled movement, while veer can be sudden.
Opposites
Word family
- veering noun
- a sudden or gradual change of direction
- veer noun
- a change of direction (less common than the verb)
Commonly confused: veer or steer?
veer vs steer
Steer means to guide the direction on purpose, while veer often happens suddenly or without full control.
Practice
During the debate, the conversation began to ___ off topic, so the moderator brought it back.
Choose one answer.
Veer off topic is the fixed pattern for drifting away from a subject. Verify means to check, vary means to differ, and vent means to release feelings, so none fit this phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “veer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.