steerageway

[ steer-ij-wey ]

/ ˈstɪər ɪdʒˌweɪ /

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noun Nautical.

sufficient speed to permit a vessel to be maneuvered.

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Origin of steerageway

First recorded in 1710–20; steerage + way¹

Words nearby steerageway

steeplechasing, steeple cup, steeplejack, steer, steerage, steerageway, steer clear of, steerer, steerhide, steering, steering column

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use steerageway in a sentence

Thus it lost headway sufficiently so that the seas caused it to drift back, without its coming about or losing all steerageway.
The Rival Campers Afloat|Ruel Perley Smith
With her small area of exposed sail and with the wind buffeting her, she had halted and paid off, lacking steerageway.
Blow The Man Down|Holman Day
As the other approached, Harry shut off the power of the engines, checking them to little more than steerageway.
Boy Scouts in the North Sea|G. Harvey Ralphson
He held her nose up to the open sea, allowing her only steerageway, the gale slithering off her flattened sail.
The Skipper and the Skipped|Holman Day

I rigged up a sail out of the oar and the canvas spray shield, but there wa'n't wind enough to give us steerageway.
The Depot Master|Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for steerageway

steerageway

/ (ˈstɪərɪdʒˌweɪ) /

noun

nautical enough forward movement to allow a vessel to be steered

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