noun
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the cheapest accommodation on a passenger ship, originally the compartments containing the steering apparatus
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an instance or the practice of steering and the effect of this on a vessel or vehicle
Etymology
Origin of steerage
First recorded in 1400–50, steerage is from the late Middle English word sterage. See steer 1, -age
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.
We tried to fly standby on an earlier departure, but another couple jumped us on the list at the last moment, and a gate agent said it was probably because we had booked into steerage.
From Slate • Oct. 9, 2025
Her job doesn’t allow for remote work, and she said she didn’t want to subject her large dog to the steerage of an airplane.
From New York Times • Oct. 19, 2022
And where Bong’s work was about a fight to the front with steerage overtaking first class, a TV show needed more to sustain itself over several episodes.
From Washington Post • May 13, 2020
Without a speedy fix to regain steerage, the Polar Star would face a nightmare scenario: getting stuck in ice as the ocean froze around it.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 2, 2019
Our tickets secure us seats in the steerage class on the boat.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
