control stick

American

noun

Aeronautics.

a lever by which a pilot controls the ailerons and elevator of an aircraft.

control stick British

noun

Also called: control column, joy stick. the lever by which a pilot controls the lateral and longitudinal movements of an aircraft

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of control stick

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

control stick

The basis of its training is videogames: The company’s model captures every frame of a game, as well as the actions users take—every press on a button or nudge of a control stick.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Most of the time, I’m only worrying about one trigger for gas, one trigger for brake, and navigating with the left control stick.

From The Verge ● Nov. 4, 2021

Their shuttle had dials, switches and a control stick.

From BBC ● May 24, 2020

Scott takes another handful of Cheetos, grabs the control stick, and leans back.

From Scientific American ● Feb. 12, 2018

But by letting go of the control stick to shout, the puppy has returned full command of the craft to Dr. Loofah.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023