trim tab

American  

Or trimming tab

noun

Aeronautics.

1. an independently controlled tab set in the trailing edge of a control surface, as an elevator, aileron, or rudder, to hold it in a position suitable for stabilizing the aircraft in a flight attitude.

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trim tab British  

noun

1. a small control surface attached to the trailing edge of a main control surface to enable the pilot to trim an aircraft

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Example Sentences

As Webb makes that journey, it will be pushed around by the solar wind, or the constant stream of particles coming from the sun, so the telescope will unfold a "trim tab" for stability.

From Scientific American

She was a trim tab, man, and the moment was real.

From The New Yorker

"The little rudder will turn the big rudder, the big rudder will turn the ship. The little rudder is called a trim tab," he said.

From BBC

He compared himself and everyone in the ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to a trim tab, the tiny piece beneath a ship that can change the craft’s direction, saying they can all “turn this ship around, man!”

From Seattle Times

All of company’s tours start at Trim Tab or Good People Brewing.

From Seattle Times