dodge

To avoid being hit by moving quickly aside.

• He had to dodge oncoming traffic when his bicycle chain snapped.

• Can you dodge the ball if I throw it fast?

To avoid dealing with something you should do, such as a question, a duty, or a payment, often in a dishonest way.

• He kept dodging my questions about where he had been.

• Are you trying to dodge your share of the cleaning again?

A quick evasive movement to avoid an obstacle or incoming object.

• With a quick dodge to the left, the runner escaped the defender.

• Her sudden dodge prevented a painful collision on the crowded sidewalk.

A clever, tricky, or dishonest scheme used to escape an obligation.

• Setting up offshore shell accounts was just an elaborate tax dodge.

• Is that excuse a genuine reason or merely a convenient dodge?