dodge Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade
stratagem; contrivance.
- his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us off the track
noun a quick evasive movement
noun a statement that evades the question by cleverness or trickery
scheme; dodging.
verb make a sudden movement in a new direction so as to avoid
- The child dodged the teacher's blow
verb move to and fro or from place to place usually in an irregular course
- the pickpocket dodged through the crowd
verb avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues)
fudge; sidestep; evade; parry; elude; skirt; duck; hedge; circumvent; put off.
- He dodged the issue
- she skirted the problem
- They tend to evade their responsibilities
- he evaded the questions skillfully

Of uncertain origin: cf. dodder, v., daddle, dade, or dog, v. t.

imperfect & past participle Dodged ; present participle & verbal noun Dodging

To start suddenly aside, as to avoid a blow or a missile; to shift place by a sudden start. Milton.
To evade a duty by low craft; to practice mean shifts; to use tricky devices; to play fast and loose; to quibble.
Some dodging casuist with more craft than sincerity. Milton.

To evade by a sudden shift of place; to escape by starting aside; as, to dodge a blow aimed or a ball thrown.
Fig.: To evade by craft; as, to dodge a question; to dodge responsibility. Colloq. S. G. Goodrich.
To follow by dodging, or suddenly shifting from place to place. Coleridge.

The act of evading by some skillful movement; a sudden starting aside; hence, an artful device to evade, deceive, or cheat; a cunning trick; an artifice. Colloq.
Some, who have a taste for good living, have many harmless arts, by which they improve their banquet, and innocent dodges, if we may be permitted to use an excellent phrase that has become vernacular since the appearance of the last dictionaries. Thackeray.