intransitive verb
- to change direction; shift; turn or swing around
- to change sides; shift, as from one opinion or attitude to another
- Meteorol. to shift clockwise (in the Northern Hemisphere): said of the changing direction of a wind
- Naut.
- to change the direction or course of a ship by swinging its stern to the wind; wear a ship
- to be so turned: said of a ship
Origin:
altered (by assoc. with veer) < Fr virer, to turn around, prob. < VL *virare, contr. < L vibrare: see vibrate