veer1

[veer] /vɪər/
verb (used without object)
1.
to change direction or turn about or aside; shift, turn, or change from one course, position, inclination, etc., to another:
The speaker kept veering from his main topic. The car veered off the road.
2.
  1. to change direction clockwise (opposed to back).
  2. Nautical. to shift to a direction more nearly astern (opposed to haul).
verb (used with object)
3.
to alter the direction or course of; turn.
4.
Nautical. to turn (a vessel) away from the wind; wear.
noun
5.
a change of direction, position, course, etc.:
a sudden veer in a different direction.
Origin
1575-85; < Middle French virer to turn
Related forms
veeringly, adverb
Synonyms
1. deviate, swerve, diverge.

veer2

[veer] /vɪər/
verb (used with object), Nautical
1.
to slacken or let out:
to veer chain.
Origin
1425-75; late Middle English vere < Middle Dutch vieren to let out

vee

[vee] /vi/
adjective
1.
shaped like the letter V: a vee neckline.
noun
2.
anything shaped like or suggesting a V .
Origin
1880-85; spelling of the letter name
Examples from the web for veer
  • He unwittingly started to veer into the road, prompting an oncoming car to honk.
  • In any case, current economic conditions will reduce the elbow room for any government keen to veer left.
  • Sometimes they veer off into the crowd, and everyone scatters and runs.
  • Other performers veer away from being completely educational or philosophical.
  • When people can learn what others think, the wisdom of crowds may veer towards ignorance.
  • Television reports on the elderly and their problems usually veer between sentimentality and depression.
  • My students tend to veer towards the low-tech side, though it varies.
  • The probe maneuvers itself into position by tracking bright objects, so the jets could cause the craft to veer off course.
  • It takes the equivalent of only a two-second lapse for a driver to veer into oncoming traffic.
  • Against this backdrop, the big thinkers about today's media revolution tend to veer towards extremes of optimism or pessimism.
British Dictionary definitions for veer

veer1

/vɪə/
verb
1.
to alter direction (of); swing around
2.
(intransitive) to change from one position, opinion, etc, to another
3.
(intransitive)
  1. (of the wind) to change direction clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the southern
  2. (nautical) to blow from a direction nearer the stern Compare haul (sense 5)
4.
(nautical) to steer (a vessel) off the wind
noun
5.
a change of course or direction
Word Origin
C16: from Old French virer, probably of Celtic origin; compare Welsh gwyro to diverge

veer2

/vɪə/
verb
1.
(transitive; often foll by out or away) (nautical) to slacken or pay out (cable or chain)
Word Origin
C16: from Dutch vieren, from Old High German fieren to give direction
Word Origin and History for veer
v.

1580s, "to change direction" (originally with reference to the wind), from Middle French virer "to turn," of uncertain origin, perhaps from the Latin stem vir- in viriae (plural) "bracelets;" or perhaps from a Vulgar Latin contraction of Latin vibrare "to shake." Related: veered, veering.

vee

n.

1883, to denote the shape of the letter V. As a type of engine, by 1951.

Related Abbreviations for veer

VEE

Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis