rudder
Americannoun
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rudders
plural
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Nautical. a vertical blade at the stern of a vessel that can be turned horizontally to change the vessel's direction when in motion.
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Aeronautics. a movable control surface attached to a vertical stabilizer, located at the rear of an airplane and used, along with the ailerons, to turn the airplane.
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any means of or device for governing, directing, or guiding a course, as a leader or principle.
His ideas provided a rudder for the new company.
noun
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nautical a pivoted vertical vane that projects into the water at the stern of a vessel and can be controlled by a tiller, wheel, or other apparatus to steer the vessel
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a vertical control surface attached to the rear of the fin used to steer an aircraft, in conjunction with the ailerons
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anything that guides or directs
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of rudder
First recorded before 900; Middle English rodder, rother, ruder, Old English rōther; cognate with Old Frisian rōther, Middle Dutch rōder ( Dutch roer ), Old High German ruodar ( German Ruder ); akin to row 2
Explanation
A rudder is an important part of a ship, boat, or airplane's steering system. If your rudder is out of whack, you may end up somewhere that you don't want to be! A ship's rudder is a flat sheet attached to the stern (or back), that moves back and forth as the captain steers. It works by directing the water to move past the ship in a certain way, pushing the front of the vessel to the right or left. On an airplane, the rudder works the same way, but by directing the flow of air instead, so the plane turns to the left or right. The word rudder comes from the Old English roðor, "paddle or oar," from a Germanic root meaning "tool for steering."
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:
Part of the rudder, used to control side-to-side movements, snapped off the tail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
A U.S. military helicopter fired at the rudder of the ship after its crew ignored warnings from American personnel working to enforce the naval blockade of Iran’s ports, the official said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
That rudder has steered him to many shores.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
There should also have been two crew members - one on the engine and one on the rudder.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
“Here, put your hands on the controls, your feet on die rudder pedals, and I’ll show you what I mean.”
From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen
They have also been developing stronger actuators—machines that pull and push and take the place of pilots’ muscles to move planes’ rudders and other flight-control surfaces in conditions where humans would otherwise have to intervene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
“It's pretty powerful and kind of metaphorical that you see these orcas going after rudders and sort of disabling the technology that human beings use to control marine space.”
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2024
In December, Boeing called on airlines to inspect rudders on their aeroplanes, after a bolt was found to be missing on one aircraft.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2024
Back in May, the stories from off the Iberian Peninsula of orcas taking apart the rudders and propellers of yachts — and, in a couple of incidents, ramming them — were both alarming and intriguing.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 28, 2023
The B-25S they flew in were stable, dependable, dull-green ships with twin rudders and engines and wide wings.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
