MANOEUVRE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does manoeuvre mean? 

• MANOEUVRE (noun)
  The noun MANOEUVRE has 5 senses:

1. a plan for attaining a particular goal

2. a military training exercise

3. a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and skill

4. a move made to gain a tactical end

5. an action aimed at evading an opponent

  Familiarity information: MANOEUVRE used as a noun is common.

• MANOEUVRE (verb)
  The verb MANOEUVRE has 3 senses:

1. act in order to achieve a certain goal

2. direct the course; determine the direction of travelling

3. perform a movement in military or naval tactics in order to secure an advantage in attack or defense

  Familiarity information: MANOEUVRE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MANOEUVRE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A plan for attaining a particular goal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

maneuver; manoeuvre; tactic; tactics

Hypernyms ("manoeuvre" is a kind of...):

plan of action (a plan for actively doing something)

Derivation:

manoeuvre (act in order to achieve a certain goal)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A military training exercise

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

maneuver; manoeuvre; simulated military operation

Hypernyms ("manoeuvre" is a kind of...):

military operation; operation (activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign))

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Holonyms ("manoeuvre" is a part of...):

military training (training soldiers in military procedures)

Derivation:

manoeuvre (perform a movement in military or naval tactics in order to secure an advantage in attack or defense)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and skill

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

maneuver; manoeuvre; play

Context example:

the runner was out on a play by the shortstop

Hypernyms ("manoeuvre" is a kind of...):

motion; move; movement (the act of changing location from one place to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "manoeuvre"):

baseball play ((baseball) a play executed by a baseball team)

mousetrap; trap play ((American football) a play in which a defensive player is allowed to cross the line of scrimmage and then blocked off as the runner goes through the place the lineman vacated)

blitz; linebacker blitzing; safety blitz ((American football) defensive players try to break through the offensive line)

shot; stroke ((sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand)

footwork (the manner of using the feet)

obstruction (getting in someone's way)

jugglery (the performance of a juggler)

assist ((sports) the act of enabling another player to make a good play)

ball hawking (a skillful maneuver in catching balls or in stealing the ball from the opposing team)

completion; pass completion ((American football) a successful forward pass in football)

figure (a predetermined set of movements in dancing or skating)

takeaway (the act of taking the ball or puck away from the team on the offense (as by the interception of a pass))

icing; icing the puck ((ice hockey) the act of shooting the puck from within your own defensive area the length of the rink beyond the opponent's goal)

Holonyms ("manoeuvre" is a part of...):

athletic game (a game involving athletic activity)

Derivation:

manoeuvre (direct the course; determine the direction of travelling)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A move made to gain a tactical end

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

maneuver; manoeuvre; tactical maneuver; tactical manoeuvre

Hypernyms ("manoeuvre" is a kind of...):

move (the act of deciding to do something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "manoeuvre"):

artifice; ruse (a deceptive maneuver (especially to avoid capture))

measure; step (any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal)

gambit; ploy; stratagem (a maneuver in a game or conversation)

footwork (skillful maneuvering or dealing)

feint (any distracting or deceptive maneuver (as a mock attack))

device; gimmick; twist (any clever maneuver)

parking (the act of maneuvering a vehicle into a location where it can be left temporarily)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An action aimed at evading an opponent

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

evasive action; maneuver; manoeuvre

Hypernyms ("manoeuvre" is a kind of...):

evasion (the act of physically escaping from something (an opponent or a pursuer or an unpleasant situation) by some adroit maneuver)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "manoeuvre"):

airplane maneuver; flight maneuver (a maneuver executed by an aircraft)

straight-arm ((American football) the act of warding off a tackler by holding the arm fully extended with the hand against the opponent)

clinch ((boxing) the act of one boxer holding onto the other to avoid being hit and to rest momentarily)

• MANOEUVRE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they manoeuvre    ... he / she / it manoeuvres   
Past simple: manoeuvred   
Past participle: manoeuvred   
-ing form: manoeuvring   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Act in order to achieve a certain goal

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

maneuver; manoeuver; manoeuvre

Context example:

She maneuvered herself into the directorship

Hypernyms (to "manoeuvre" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

manoeuvre (a plan for attaining a particular goal)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Direct the course; determine the direction of travelling

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

channelise; channelize; direct; guide; head; maneuver; manoeuver; manoeuvre; point; steer

Hypernyms (to "manoeuvre" is one way to...):

command; control (exercise authoritative control or power over)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "manoeuvre"):

park (maneuver a vehicle into a parking space)

corner; tree (force a person or an animal into a position from which he cannot escape)

channel (direct the flow of)

navigate; pilot (act as the navigator in a car, plane, or vessel and plan, direct, plot the path and position of the conveyance)

conn (conduct or direct the steering of a ship or plane)

starboard (turn to the right, of helms or rudders)

stand out (steer away from shore, of ships)

navigate (direct carefully and safely)

crab (direct (an aircraft) into a crosswind)

helm (be at or take the helm of)

pull over (steer a vehicle to the side of the road)

sheer (cause to sheer)

dock (maneuver into a dock)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

manoeuvre (a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and skill)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Perform a movement in military or naval tactics in order to secure an advantage in attack or defense

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

maneuver; manoeuver; manoeuvre; operate

Hypernyms (to "manoeuvre" is one way to...):

go; move (have a turn; make one's move in a game)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "manoeuvre"):

jockey (compete (for an advantage or a position))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something PP
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

manoeuvre (a military training exercise)

 Context examples 

"Halting sneezing via blocking the nostrils and mouth is a dangerous manoeuvre, and should be avoided," caution the authors.

(Blocking A Sneeze, Man Ruptures Throat, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

And if he did so, would he have to repeat the manoeuvre the next time?

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The rest were all somewhat stooping, as though watching the manoeuvres of this last.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

My poor aunt had certainly little cause to love the state; but, however, speaking from my own observation, it is a manoeuvring business.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

There is one thing, Emma, which a man can always do, if he chuses, and that is, his duty; not by manoeuvring and finessing, but by vigour and resolution.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

I meant, however, to be a bigamist; but fate has out-manoeuvred me, or Providence has checked me,—perhaps the last.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The manoeuvres of selfishness and duplicity must ever be revolting, but I have heard nothing which really surprises me.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

The Longbourn party were the last of all the company to depart, and, by a manoeuvre of Mrs. Bennet, had to wait for their carriage a quarter of an hour after everybody else was gone, which gave them time to see how heartily they were wished away by some of the family.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

One could not walk the Kent coast without seeing the beacons heaped up to tell the country of the enemy’s landing, and if the sun were shining on the uplands near Boulogne, one might catch the flash of its gleam upon the bayonets of manoeuvring veterans.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She had been out-manoeuvred and out-run, to say nothing of her having been unceremoniously tumbled in the gravel, and her arrival was like that of a tornado—made up of offended dignity, justifiable wrath, and instinctive hatred for this marauder from the Wild.

(White Fang, by Jack London)