Word Confusion: Careen versus Career

Third person present verb: careens
Past tense or past participle: careened
Gerund or present participle: careening

Plural for the noun and third person present verb: careers
Past tense or past participle: careered
Gerund or present participle: careering

[Nautical] The position of a ship on its side

Verb, intransitive:
[With adverbial of direction; mainly North American] Move swiftly and in an uncontrolled way in a specified direction ¹

[Of a ship] Lean over ²

• Tilt

[South Midland US] To lean or bend away from the vertical position

To run or move rapidly along

• Go at full speed

Verb, transitive:
Turn (a ship) on its side for cleaning, caulking, or repair ²

To cause (a ship) to heel over or list, as by the force of a beam wind

• The time spent by a person while committed to a particular profession
• The progress through history of an institution, organization, etc.
• [As modifier] Working permanently in or committed to a particular profession

Verb, intransitive:
[With adverbial of direction] Move swiftly and in an uncontrolled way in a specified direction

A beach favored for careening was called a careenage.

Careening is used for cleaning or repairing the hull.

Verb, intransitive:
An electric golf cart careened around the corner.

A heavy flood tide caused my vessel to careen dizzily.

The barn was careening a little.

He stood to one side as they careened past him.

Verb, transitive:
That sort of upkeep had always been done between tides, on gently sloped sandy beaches, where the boats were careened and cleaned.

Another model portrayed a more elaborate method of careening a ship using an enormous floating dock with a set of capstans to pull a hull onto one side.

“The vessel careens over almost on her beam ends, the wind whistles through the rigging with a wicked sound and the huge clouds of spray thrown into the air as the vessel plunges into each oncoming wave, blow into the faces of crewmen and freeze to everything” (Palmer).

He came to the end of a distinguished career in the navy.

The court has had a checkered career.

She was a career diplomat.

Verb, intransitive:
The car careered across the road and went through a hedge.

However the longer route has to be taken as they won’t fit down the side of the house this way, so it’s out through one gate and in through another hoping not to meet a car careering down the road in the process.

He remembered the car careering off the road, plowing through a hedge, and rolling over a couple of times.

1. Influenced by the verb career.
2. Late 16th century, as a noun denoting the position of a careened ship, is from the French carène, from the Italian carena, from the Latin carina meaning a keel.