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Careen and Career
Some people might be confused by the warning to not confuse careen and career, because the most common sense of career ("a profession") is not much like any of the meanings of careen. But when employed as a verb, career does have some semantic overlap with careen; both words may be used to mean "to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner." A car, for instance, may either careen or career. Some usage guides hold, however, that the car is only careening if there is side-to-side motion, as careen has other meanings related to movement, among which is "to sway from side to side."
Examples of careen in a Sentence
Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
Then there were the gym class scooters, which were basically just a flat plastic surface and four wheels of death that would send you careening across the gym floor, often crushing your fingers in the process.
—Kara Nesvig, Parents, 12 Sep. 2025
The outlook isn’t good for the Kings, who have gotten older without fixing the roster imbalance that sent them careening toward play-in tournament losses each of the past two seasons.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Donatich’s whipsmart script is character-driven, witty and wise in giving each of them a distinct personality as their decisions start to careen out of control.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for careen
Cite this Entry
“Careen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/careen. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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