swerve
/swɝv/verb, noun
swerve is spelled S-W-E-R-V-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, swerve means “To go out of a straight line; to deflect” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in swerve?
| Letters | 6: S-W-E-R-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,789th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is swerve?
Swerve appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce swerve?
- UK /swɜːv/
- US /swɝv/
Swerve has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-swerve.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with swerve?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as swerve from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹv/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of swerve
- swerves present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- swerving participle, present
- swerved participle, past
- swarve
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does swerve mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
archaicTo stray; to wander; to rove.
- 2
To go out of a straight line; to deflect.
- 3
To wander from any line prescribed, or from a rule or duty; to depart from what is established by law, duty, custom, or the like; to deviate.
- 4
To bend; to incline; to give way.
- 5
To climb or move upward by winding or turning.
- 6
To turn aside or deviate to avoid impact.
- 7
Of a projectile, to travel in a curved line
- 8
To drive in the trajectory of another vehicle to stop it, to cut off.
noun
- 1
A sudden movement out of a straight line, for example to avoid a collision.
- 2
A deviation from duty or custom.
- 3
Synonym of drift (“sideways movement imparted by spin bowler”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Swerve in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dévier , se détourner , esquive |
| German | ausscheren , Schlenker, Ausweichmanöver , ausweichen |
| Portuguese | desviar, guinar , guinada |
| Spanish | volantazo, cabrillazo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does swerve come from?
From Middle English swerven, swarven, from Old English sweorfan (“to file; rub; polish; scour; turn aside”), from Proto-Germanic *swerbaną (“to rub off; wipe; mop”), from Proto-Indo-European *swerbʰ- (“to turn; wipe; sweep”). Cognate with West Frisian swerve (“to wander; roam; swerve”), Dutch zwerven (“to wander; stray; roam”), Low German swarven (“to swerve; wander; riot”), Swedish dialectal svärva (“to wipe”), Icelandic sverfa (“to file”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).