steerageway

American

[steer-ij-way] / ˈstɪər ɪdʒˌweɪ /

noun

Nautical.

sufficient speed to permit a vessel to be maneuvered.

steerageway British

/ 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

Etymology

Origin of steerageway

First recorded in 1710–20; steerage + way ¹

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:

steerageway

Despite Harry Truman's hasty efforts at damage control, the Fair Deal had all but lost steerageway, and Truman knew it.

From Time Magazine Archive

Step 1 Approach the slip downwind as slowly as possible to maintain steerageway and keep the boat relatively parallel to the stream.

From Time Magazine Archive

What I do is back off the throttle, point my bow into the wind and then hold steerageway until the blow passes.

From Time Magazine Archive

I ordered that we slow to bare steerageway and eased back into the channel.

From Time Magazine Archive

There was not more than a capful of wind; but once let the canvas fill, and the schooner would get steerageway.

From Sheila of Big Wreck Cove A Story of Cape Cod by R. Emmett (Robert Emmett) Owen

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