The Collaborative International Dictionary
Careen \Ca*reen"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Careened; p. pr. & vb. n. Careening.] [OF. cariner, F. car['e]ner, fr. OF. car[`e]ne, the bottom of a ship, keel, fr. L. carin
] (Naut.) To cause (a vessel) to lean over so that she floats on one side, leaving the other side out of water and accessible for repairs below the water line; to case to be off the keel.
Wiktionary
n. The motion of something that careens. vb. (present participle of careen English)
Wikipedia
Careening (also known as "heaving down") is the practice of grounding a sailing vessel at high tide in order to expose one side of its hull for maintenance and repairs below the water line when the tide goes out.
Usage examples of "careening".
The winchman, fortunately, was as quick-witted as he was experienced, and as the wildly careening crate swung jerkily back to dead centre he lowered away at two or three times the normal speed, braking just seconds before the lowermost corner of the crate crunched and splintered against the floor of the hold.
The _Happy Delivery_ was careening at Torbec on the south-west of Hispaniola.
The Jamaican smiled, his bright teeth catching the light from the careening reflections through the windshield.
A plunging, careening crate, propelled by a sudden vicious lurch as the campari plunged headlong into an exceptional trough, caught her back and shoulder and pitched her to the floor, pushing her along before its massive weight as if it were imbued with an almost human inhumanuality of evil and malignance and determined to crush the life out of her against the forward bulkhead.
For a second I stood still in that impenetrable darkness, bewildered, then my hand touched the top of the three-foot baffle and I had it: in their wrestling on that crazily careening deck they'd staggered against the baffle and toppled over on to the floor of the hold.
Rovas kicked over the timber scuttle, sending chopped logs careening over the floor.
Landing right at Melli's side, he pushed her out of the way, sending her careening forward.
But the water level was a good six inches from overflowing, and the fish seemed to be enjoying themselves, careening playfully in the turbulence, pecking at the rain-packed surface of the water, creating kinetic rainbows that sparkled through the gloom.
Below its careening trunk, patches of yellow and blue lupine flowed like paint spills down a sloping green canvas.