maneuver
/məˈnuvɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.53 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The planned movement of troops, vehicles etc.; a strategic repositioning; (later also) a large training field-exercise of fighting units.
American usage
noun
A movement of the body, or with an implement, instrument etc., especially one performed with skill or dexterity.
American usage
noun
A specific medical or surgical movement, often eponymous, done with the doctor's hands or surgical instruments.
American usage
Example Sentences
- "The army was on maneuvers."
- "Joint NATO maneuvers are as much an exercise in diplomacy as in tactics and logistics."
- "“This,” cried he, “is a manœuvre I have been some time expecting: but Mr. Harrel, though artful and selfish, is by no means deep.”"
- "The otorhinolaryngologist performed an Epley maneuver and the patient was relieved of his vertigo."
- "Parallel parking can be a difficult maneuver."
- "The patriarch maneuvered till his offspring occupied countless key posts"
Etymology
From Middle French manœuvre (“manipulation, maneuver”) and manouvrer (“to maneuver”), from Old French manovre (“handwork, manual labor”), from Medieval Latin manopera, manuopera (“work done by hand, handwork”), from manu (“by hand”) + operari (“to work”). First recorded in the Capitularies of Charlemagne (800 AD) to mean "chore, manual task", probably as a calque of the Frankish *handuwerk (“hand-work”). Compare Old English handweorc, Old English handġeweorc, German Handwerk. The verb is a doublet of the verb manure.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /məˈnuvɚ/
- British English: /məˈnuːvə/
Usage
- American usage
- Transitive verb
- Intransitive verb
Inflected Forms
maneuvers (plural)
manoeuvre (alternative, Commonwealth)
manœuvre (alternative, dated)
maneuvre (alternative, nonstandard)
manoeuver (alternative, nonstandard)
manœuver (alternative, obsolete)
maneuvers (present, singular)
maneuvering (participle, present)
maneuvered (participle, past)
maneuvered (past)