Definition of "maneuver" in English

noun

1. (military) 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. Any strategic or cunning action; a stratagem.

3. A movement of the body, or with an implement, instrument etc., especially one performed with skill or dexterity.

4. (medicine) 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. A controlled (especially skillful) movement taken while steering a vehicle.

   • Parallel parking can be a difficult maneuver.

verb

1. (ambitransitive) To move (something, or oneself) carefully, and often with difficulty, into a certain position.

2. (figurative, transitive) To guide, steer, manage purposefully

3. (figurative, intransitive) To intrigue, manipulate, plot, scheme

   • The patriarch maneuvered till his offspring occupied countless key posts