Definition of "veer" in English

verb

1. (obsolete, nautical) To let out (a sail-line), to allow (a sheet) to run out.

noun

1. A turn or swerve; an instance of veering.

verb

1. (intransitive) To change direction or course suddenly; to swerve.

   • The car slid on the ice and veered out of control.

2. (intransitive, of the wind) To shift in a clockwise direction (if in the Northern Hemisphere, or in a counterclockwise direction if in the Southern Hemisphere).

   • 1966, F. K. Hare, The Restless Atmosphere, 4th edition, Hutchinson University Library It is clear that when a front passes the observer, there must be a sudden shift in wind: in the northern hemisphere it will always veer, that is, shift in a clockwise sense.

3. (intransitive, nautical, of the wind) To shift aft.

4. (intransitive, nautical) To change direction into the wind; to wear ship.

5. (transitive) To turn.

noun

1. (Cornwall) A piglet or a heifer.