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Added 9 October 2026

maneuver

/məˈnuvɚ/ noun

In Latin: dēcursiō Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about maneuver at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A military training exercise.
A plan for attaining a particular goal.
A deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and skill.
he made a great maneuver

verb

Direct the course; determine the direction of travelling.
Act in order to achieve a certain goal.
He maneuvered to get the chairmanship
Perform a movement in military or naval tactics in order to secure an advantage in attack or defense.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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