Meanings
dodge1
present singular third person dodges · participle present dodging · participle past dodged · past dodged
- ambitransitiveTo avoid (something) by moving suddenly out of the way.
He dodged traffic crossing the street.
1 more example
But that was only the start, because the Fletchers - (obviously) carrying two torpedo launchers - were only launching half-salvos, so one full wave of torpedoes had driven off the cruisers after having savaged the destroyers, aaand then it was a case of, well, here come twenty-five destroyers, here comes^([sic]) two hundred and fifty torpedoes, hello Japanese battleships, dodge this!
2019 March 6, Drachinifel, 26:48 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!, archived from the original on 20 Jul 2022 - figurativelytransitiveTo avoid; to sidestep.
The politician dodged the question with a meaningless reply.
1 more example
The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.
2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion - transitiveTo elude.
“We must follow after this dreadnought, hard on her tracks. She shall not dodge me though she hide in unfathomed waters, or in the earth's bosom, or in lonely woods, or on crags!”
1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 35 - ambitransitivearchaicTo go, or cause to go, hither and thither.
Or if a footpad asks him for his money, what need he care provided he has an umbrella? He threatens to dodge the ferrule into the ruffian’s eye, and the fellow starts back and says, “Lord, sir! I meant no harm. […]
1862, George Borrow, Wild Wales - transitiveTo follow by dodging, or suddenly shifting from place to place.
"I had a notion he was dodging me all the way I came, for I saw him just behind me, turn which way I would."
1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, II.iii.72 more examples
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! / And still it neared and neared: / As if it dodged a water-sprite, / It plunged and tacked and veered.
1797–1798 (date written), [Samuel Taylor Coleridge], “The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere”, in Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems, London: […] J[ohn] & A[rthur] Arch, […], published 1798, →OCLCMiss Griffin screamed after me, the faithless Vizier ran after me, and the boy at the turnpike dodged me into a corner, like a sheep, and cut me off.
1859 December 13, Charles Dickens, “The Ghost in Master B’s Room”, in Charles Dickens, editor, The Haunted House. The Extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Whiting, […], →OCLC, page 30 - ambitransitivedatedTo trick somebody.
plural dodges
- An act of dodging.
- A trick, evasion or wile. (Now mainly in the expression tax dodge.)
“Ain't this a rum go? This is a queer sort of dodge for lighting the streets.”
1869, Punch, volume 57, page 2572 more examples
The dodges of women beat all comprehension; and I am sure she wouldn’t let the lad off so easily, if she had not some other scheme on hand.
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 12, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLCHe knows everybody, and is up to all the dodges of editorial management and newspaper cliques.
1895, Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan: or The Strange Experience of One Geoffrey Tempest, Millionaire […], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, published 1896, →OCLC, page 14 - slangA line of work.
In the marketing dodge, that is known as rub-off.
1992, Time, volume 140, numbers 1-9, page 741 more example
Through a series of unconventional circumstances, some my fault, Jackie had found herself working both civil and criminal sides of the real estate dodge, which put her among a rare breed of attorney […]
2009, Chris Knopf, Head Wounds, page 233
comparative more dodge · superlative most dodge
- AustraliaUKcolloquialDodgy.
Dodge2
plural Dodges
- UScountableA surname originating as a patronymic.
- A placename
- countableuncountableA city and village in North Dakota.
- countableuncountableA census-designated place in Oklahoma.
- countableuncountableA brand of motor vehicle.
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
nounan elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade
nouna statement that evades the question by cleverness or trickery
verbavoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
dodge · verb, noun, adjective
- Proto-Germanic*dud-“to move”
- Middle English*dodden
- Englishdodge
Likely from dialectal dodge, dod, dodd (“to jog, trudge along, totter", also "to jerk, jig”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from unrecorded Middle English *dodden, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dud- (“to move”), related to Old English dydrian, dyderian (“to delude, deceive”), Middle English dideren (“to tremble, quake, shiver”), English dodder, Norwegian dudra (“to tremble”).
More words from Middle English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Dodge · proper noun
From a Middle English diminutive form of Roger.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian избягвам, отбягвам
- избягвам (izbjagvam)to avoid by moving out of the way
- отбягвам (otbjagvam)to avoid by moving out of the way
- избягвам (izbjagvam)to avoid; to sidestep
Catalan esquivar
- esquivarto avoid by moving out of the way
Chinese Mandarin 躲避, 躲開 /躲开
- 躲避 (duǒbì)to avoid by moving out of the way
- 躲開 /躲开 (duǒkai)to avoid by moving out of the way
Czech uhnout, vyhnout se
- uhnoutto avoid by moving out of the way
- vyhnout seto avoid; to sidestep
- vyhýbat seto avoid; to sidestep
- bloumat sem a tamto go hither and thither
Danish springe til side, undgå
- springe til sideto avoid by moving out of the way
- undgåto avoid by moving out of the way
- undgåto avoid; to sidestep
Dutch ontwijken, uit de weg gaan
- ontwijkento avoid by moving out of the way
- uit de weg gaanto avoid by moving out of the way
- ontspringento avoid by moving out of the way
- ontwijkento avoid; to sidestep
- ontduikento avoid; to sidestep
Esperanto eviti, eviti
- evitito avoid by moving out of the way
- evitito avoid; to sidestep
Finnish väistää, vältellä
- väistääto avoid by moving out of the way
- vältelläto avoid; to sidestep
- varjostaaphotography: to make lighter (to decrease the exposure of an area of a photo)
French éviter, contourner
- éviterto avoid by moving out of the way
- contournerto avoid by moving out of the way
- esquiverto avoid by moving out of the way
- esquiverto avoid; to sidestep
- éluderto avoid; to sidestep
German ausweichen, beiseite springen
- ausweichento avoid by moving out of the way
- beiseite springento avoid by moving out of the way
- ausweichento avoid; to sidestep
- umgehento avoid; to sidestep
Greek αποφεύγω
- αποφεύγω (apofévgo)to avoid by moving out of the way
Hungarian kikerül, kitér
- kikerülto avoid by moving out of the way
- kitérto avoid by moving out of the way
- félreugrikto avoid by moving out of the way
- elugrikto avoid by moving out of the way
- kitérto avoid; to sidestep
- megkerülto avoid; to sidestep
- elkerülto avoid; to sidestep
- kihúzza magátto avoid; to sidestep
- kivonja magátto avoid; to sidestep
Italian schivare, scansare
- schivareto avoid by moving out of the way
- scansareto avoid by moving out of the way
- eludereto avoid; to sidestep
Japanese よける, 身をかわす
- よける (yokeru)to avoid by moving out of the way
- 身をかわす (mi-o kawasu)to avoid by moving out of the way
Portuguese esquivar, subexpor
- esquivarto avoid by moving out of the way
- subexporphotography: to make lighter (to decrease the exposure of an area of a photo)
Russian увёртываться, уверну́ться
- увёртываться (uvjórtyvatʹsja)to avoid by moving out of the way
- уверну́ться (uvernútʹsja)to avoid by moving out of the way
- извора́чиваться (izvoráčivatʹsja)to avoid by moving out of the way
- изверну́ться (izvernútʹsja)to avoid by moving out of the way
- уви́ливать (uvílivatʹ)to avoid; to sidestep
- увильну́ть (uvilʹnútʹ)to avoid; to sidestep
- избега́ть (izbegátʹ)to avoid; to sidestep
- избежа́ть (izbežátʹ)to avoid; to sidestep
- уклоня́ться (uklonjátʹsja)to avoid; to sidestep
- уклони́ться (uklonítʹsja)to avoid; to sidestep
Slovak uhnúť sa, vyhýbať sa
- uhnúť sato avoid by moving out of the way
- vyhýbať sato avoid by moving out of the way
- uhýbaťto avoid; to sidestep
Spanish esquivar, esquivar
- esquivarto avoid by moving out of the way
- esquivarto avoid; to sidestep
- capearto avoid; to sidestep
Swedish undvika, undvika
- undvikato avoid by moving out of the way
- undvikato avoid; to sidestep
- gå hit och ditto go hither and thither
Thai หลบ, หลีก
- หลบ (lòp)to avoid by moving out of the way
- หลีก (lìik)to avoid by moving out of the way
- เลี่ยง (lîiang)to avoid; to sidestep
Vietnamese tránh, né
- tránhto avoid by moving out of the way
- néto avoid by moving out of the way
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with dodge
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
dodge. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dodge
“dodge.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dodge. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dodge,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dodge.
Source: dodge on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.