RUDDER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rudder mean? 

• RUDDER (noun)
  The noun RUDDER has 2 senses:

1. a hinged vertical airfoil mounted at the tail of an aircraft and used to make horizontal course changes

2. (nautical) steering mechanism consisting of a hinged vertical plate mounted at the stern of a vessel

  Familiarity information: RUDDER used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RUDDER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A hinged vertical airfoil mounted at the tail of an aircraft and used to make horizontal course changes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("rudder" is a kind of...):

aerofoil; airfoil; control surface; surface (a device that provides reactive force when in motion relative to the surrounding air; can lift or control a plane in flight)

Holonyms ("rudder" is a part of...):

vertical tail (the vertical airfoil in the tail assembly of an aircraft)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(nautical) steering mechanism consisting of a hinged vertical plate mounted at the stern of a vessel

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("rudder" is a kind of...):

steering mechanism; steering system (a mechanism by which something is steered (especially a motor vehicle))

Meronyms (parts of "rudder"):

rudder blade (the vertical blade on a rudder)

rudderpost; rudderstock (a vertical post at the forward edge of a rudder that enables the rudder to pivot)

tiller (lever used to turn the rudder on a boat)

Domain category:

navigation; sailing; seafaring (the work of a sailor)

Holonyms ("rudder" is a part of...):

vessel; watercraft (a craft designed for water transportation)

 Context examples 

Another touch of the rudder and that man would join us.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“And ye steer with a rudder, don't ye? It ain't fur off. How is he, sir?”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But these gave place to a heavy swell; I felt sick and hardly able to hold the rudder, when suddenly I saw a line of high land towards the south.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Her low hull lifted and rolled to windward on a sea; her canvas loomed darkly in the night; her lashed wheel creaked as the rudder kicked; then sight and sound of her faded away, and we were alone on the dark sea.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The poor fellow may have been seated at one time, but the flapping and buffeting of the sails had worked through the rudder of the wheel and dragged him to and fro, so that the cords with which he was tied had cut the flesh to the bone.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The booms were tearing at the blocks, the rudder was banging to and fro, and the whole ship creaking, groaning, and jumping like a manufactory.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

But it refreshed me and filled me with such agreeable sensations that I resolved to prolong my stay on the water, and fixing the rudder in a direct position, stretched myself at the bottom of the boat.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

It was the completest and most desirable bedroom ever seen—in the stern of the vessel; with a little window, where the rudder used to go through; a little looking-glass, just the right height for me, nailed against the wall, and framed with oyster-shells; a little bed, which there was just room enough to get into; and a nosegay of seaweed in a blue mug on the table.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

With these I came on deck, put down my own stock behind the rudder head and well out of the coxswain's reach, went forward to the water-breaker, and had a good deep drink of water, and then, and not till then, gave Hands the brandy.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The jibs behind me cracked aloud, the rudder slammed to, the whole ship gave a sickening heave and shudder, and at the same moment the main-boom swung inboard, the sheet groaning in the blocks, and showed me the lee after-deck.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)