3 entries under this word
v. i. [imp. & p. p. DODGED; p. pr. & vb. n. DODGING.] [Prob. a modification of dog, v. t., q. v.] 1. To start suddenly aside; to shift place by a sudden start. Milton. 2. To play tricks; to be evasive; to use tergiversation; to play fast and loose; to raise expectations and disappoint them; to quibble. Addison.
v. t. To evade by a sudden shift of place; to escape by starting aside; as, to dodge a blow aimed; to dodge a cannon ball. [Colloq.]
n. The act of evading by some skillful movement; hence, a dexterous device or trick of any sort; a clever contrivance; an artifice.
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.