dodges

Verb

dodge (third-person singular simple present dodges, present participle dodging, simple past and past participle dodged)

1. (ambitransitive) To avoid (something) by moving suddenly out of the way.
   • He dodged traffic crossing the street.
2. (figuratively, transitive) To avoid; to sidestep.
   • The politician dodged the question with a meaningless reply.

   Synonyms:

   duck, evade, fudge, skirt, shun

3. (transitive) To elude.
   • “We must follow after this dreadnought, hard on her tracks. She shall not dodge me though she hide in unfathomed waters, or in the earth's bosom, or in lonely woods, or on crags!”1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 35
4. (ambitransitive, archaic) To go, or cause to go, hither and thither.
   • Or if a footpad asks him for his money, what need he care provided he has an umbrella? He threatens to dodge the ferrule into the ruffian’s eye, and the fellow starts back and says, “Lord, sir! I meant no harm. […]1862, George Borrow, Wild Wales
5. To make an area of an image lighter (when processing photographs in a darkroom, this is accomplished by decreasing the exposure of that area to light).
6. (transitive) To follow by dodging, or suddenly shifting from place to place.
   • "I had a notion he was dodging me all the way I came, for I saw him just behind me, turn which way I would."1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, II.iii.7

See all 17 meanings of dodge