careen
/kəˈɹiːn/
"careen" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“careen” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To heave a ship down on one side so as to expose the other, in order to clean it of barnacles and weed, or to repair it below the water line.
Corpus desk
Index EN-careen · careen · English
careen · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | careen |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /kəˈɹiːn/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “careen” in English
Rare enough to double-check
careen is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /kəˈɹiːn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for careen, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in the late 16th century, from French carène (“keel”), from Italian carena, from Latin carīna (“keel of a ship”). Doublet of carene and carina. The correct English form is careen, spelled C-A-R-E-E-N.
Definition
- 1To heave a ship down on one side so as to expose the other, in order to clean it of barnacles and weed, or to repair it below the water line.
- 2To tilt on one side.
- 3To lurch or sway violently from side to side.
- 4To tilt or lean while in motion.
- 5To career, to move rapidly straight ahead, to rush carelessly.
- 6To move swiftly and in an uncontrolled way.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how careen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
However, to avoid ſome inconveniencies relating to port duties, which would have been demanded in the port of Canton, and could not, in honour to the British flag, be complied with by us, he adviſed Mr Anſon to put into the harbour of Typa, about ſix miles from Macao, where he might careen his ſhip without diſturbance ; and actually ſent us a pilot to con…
They were not motionless, but swayed to and fro above her head, thronging out of one sky-light into another, as if the universe and not the air-ship was careening.
Etymology
First attested in the late 16th century, from French carène (“keel”), from Italian carena, from Latin carīna (“keel of a ship”). Doublet of carene and carina.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.