Word.ws English Dictionary

maneuver

Syllables: ma·neu·ver/məˈnuːvə//məˈnuvɚ/

maneuver noun: the planned movement of troops, vehicles etc.; a strategic repositioning; (later also) a large training field-exercise of fighting units.

Noun

maneuver (plural maneuvers)

  1. (US) The planned movement of troops, vehicles etc.; a strategic repositioning; (later also) a large training field-exercise of fighting units.
    • The army was on maneuvers.
    • Joint NATO maneuvers are as much an exercise in diplomacy as in tactics and logistics.
  2. (US) Any strategic or cunning action; a stratagem.
    • “This,” cried he, “is a manœuvre I have been some time expecting: but Mr. Harrel, though artful and selfish, is by no means deep.”1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, III.v.7
  3. (US) A movement of the body, or with an implement, instrument etc., especially one performed with skill or dexterity.
    Synonyms:
    ease, wrestle
  4. (US) A specific medical or surgical movement, often eponymous, done with the doctor's hands or surgical instruments.
    • The otorhinolaryngologist performed an Epley maneuver and the patient was relieved of his vertigo.
  5. (US) A controlled (especially skillful) movement taken while steering a vehicle.
    • Parallel parking can be a difficult maneuver.

Verb

maneuver (third-person singular simple present maneuvers, present participle maneuvering, simple past and past participle maneuvered)

  1. (US, ambitransitive) To move (something, or oneself) carefully, and often with difficulty, into a certain position.
    Synonyms:
    ease, wrestle
  2. (US, figuratively, transitive) To guide, steer, manage purposefully
  3. (US, figuratively, intransitive) To intrigue, manipulate, plot, scheme
    • The patriarch maneuvered till his offspring occupied countless key posts

maneuver meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Bengali

maneuver in Hindi

a large training exercise of military troops
अभ्यास abhyās

maneuver in Tamil

இழுத்து ஈன்றெடுத்தல், இழுத்துப் பிறப்பித்தல், கையுதவியால் பிறப்பித்தல், தடூகம்

maneuver in Marathi

डावपेच करणे

maneuver in Bengali

কৌশলী পদক্ষেপ, চাল, সামরিক মহড়া
More languagesFewer languages
maneuver in Kannada
ಸೂಟಿ, ಅನು, ಹಂಚಿಕೆ, ಹೂಟ
maneuver in Gujarati
દાવપેચ કરવા માટે
maneuver in Arabic
مُنَاوَرَة munāwara, تَدْرِيب عَسْكَرِيّ tadrīb ʕaskariyy
maneuver in Malay
olah gerak
maneuver in Indonesian
manuver, perasat
maneuver in Persian
مانور mânovr, رزمایش razmâyeš

Examples of maneuver in a sentence

  • All of Jones’s maneuvers to trounce Kennedy.
  • Try both these maneuvers until you have them cold and can do them in the dark without thinking.
  • I felt my way cautiously through the dangerous business maneuver.

All 40 example sentences with maneuver

Synonyms of maneuver

Forms of maneuver

Noun
pluralmaneuvers
alternative Commonwealthmanoeuvre
alternative form (dated)manœuvre
alternative form (nonstandard)maneuvre
alternative form (nonstandard)manoeuver
alternative form (obsolete)manœuver
Verb
third-person singular presentmaneuvers
present participlemaneuvering
past participlemaneuvered
pastmaneuvered

Past tense of maneuver: maneuvered

Plural of maneuver: maneuvers

Origin of maneuver

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.

Words formed from maneuver

Phrases with maneuver

Words that rhyme with maneuver

Questions about maneuver

What does maneuver mean?
Maneuver means the planned movement of troops, vehicles etc.; a strategic repositioning; (later also) a large training field-exercise of fighting units.
What is maneuver in Hindi?
Maneuver in Hindi is अभ्यास (abhyās). See Maneuver meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is maneuver?
Maneuver can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce maneuver?
Maneuver is pronounced /məˈnuvɚ/ (US).
What is the plural of maneuver?
The plural of maneuver is maneuvers.

Words near maneuver in the dictionary

  1. manet
  2. Manets
  3. Manetta
  4. Manettas
  5. manettino
  6. maneuver
  7. maneuverabilities
  8. maneuverability
  9. maneuverable
  10. maneuvered
  11. maneuverer

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: maneuver (page history and authors); maneuver (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); maneuver (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); Maneuver (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); maneuver (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); maneuver (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-maneuver.ogg, en-uk-Manoeuvre.ogg.

Cite this entry: “maneuver.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/maneuver. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.