maneuver

English

Alternative forms

• manoeuvre (British)
• maneuvre, manoeuver (nonstandard)
• manœuver, manœuvre (British, obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French manoeuvre (“manipulation, maneuver”) and manœuvrer (“to maneuver”), from Old French manovre (“handwork, manual labour”), 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 CE) to mean "chore, manual task", probably as a calque of the Frankish *handwerc (“hand-work”). Compare Old English handweorc, handġeweorc, German Handwerk.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /məˈnuːvɚ/, X-SAMPA: /m@"nu:v@`/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (UK)

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• Hyphenation: ma‧neu‧ver
• Rhymes: -uːvə(ɹ)

Noun

maneuver (plural maneuvers) (American)

1. A movement, often one performed with difficulty.

   Parallel parking can be a difficult maneuver.

2. (often in the plural) A large training field-exercise of military troops.

   The army was on maneuvers.

   Joint NATO maneuvers are as much an exercise in diplomacy as in tactics and logistics.

3. An adroit or cunning action; a stratagem.

Translations

a movement, often one performed with difficulty

• Arabic: مناورة (ar) f
• Czech: manévr (cs) m
• Dutch: manoeuvre (nl) m and f
• Esperanto: manovro (eo)
• Finnish: manööveri (fi), liike (fi)
• French: manœuvre (fr) m
• German: Manöver (de) n

• Greek: ελιγμός (el) (eligmós) m
• Hungarian: hadművelet (hu), manőver (hu)
• Norwegian: manøver (no) m
• Polish: manewr (pl) m
• Portuguese: manobra (pt) f
• Russian: манёвр (ru) (manjóvr) m
• Spanish: maniobra (es) f
• Swedish: manöver (sv) c

a large training exercise of military troops

• Dutch: manoeuvre m and f, (veld)oefening
• Esperanto: manovro (eo)
• German: Manöver (de) n

• Greek: ελιγμός (el) (eligmós) m, στρατήγημα (el) (stratígima) n
• Hungarian: hadgyakorlat (hu)
• Norwegian: manøver (no) m
• Russian: манёвры (ru) (man'óvry) m pl
• Spanish: maniobra (es)
• Swedish: manöver (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: manœuvre f
• German: Manöver
• Interlingua: manovra
• Italian: manovra f

• Norwegian: manøveren
• Romanian: manevră f
• Portuguese: manobra f
• Spanish: maniobra f

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To move (something) carefully, and often with difficulty, into a certain position.
2. (figuratively, transitive) To guide, steer, manage purposefully
3. (figuratively, intransitive) To intrigue, manipulate, plot, scheme

   The patriarch maneuvered till his offspring occupied countless key posts

Translations

to move (something) carefully, and often with difficulty, into a certain position

• Czech: manévrovat (cs)
• Dutch: manoeuvreren, laveren
• Esperanto: manovri (eo)
• Finnish: manöveroida (fi)
• French: manœuvrer (fr)
• German: manövrieren (de)
• Greek: ελίσσω (el) (elísso)
• Hungarian: manőverez (hu)

• Italian: manovrare (it)
• Norwegian: manøvrere (no)
• Romanian: manevra
• Russian: маневрировать (ru) (man'evrírovat’) impf., сманеврировать (ru) (sman'evrírovat’) pf.
• Spanish: maniobrar (es)
• Swedish: manövrera (sv)

to guide, steer, manage purposefully

• Greek: ελίσσομαι (el) (elíssomai)

• Swedish: manövrera (sv)

(intransitive) to intrigue, manipulate, plot, scheme

• Dutch: manoeuvreren, intrigeren
• Greek: ελίσσομαι (el) (elíssomai)

• Swedish: manövrera (sv), intrigera (sv)