Did you know?
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
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 23 May 2025
This one is too busy careening all over the tonal map for any of that.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2025
Videos captured by media observing the test showed a flash in the engine plume, and at least one piece of debris was seen careening out of the flame trench below the ship.
—ArsTechnica, 13 May 2025
Companies that depend on China are careening toward bankruptcy, my colleague Daisuke Wakabayashi reports.
—Ana Swanson, New York Times, 2 May 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 3 Jun. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share