sternwheeler

[ sturn-hwee-ler, -wee- ]

/ ˈstɜrnˌʰwi lər, -ˌwi- /

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noun

a boat propelled by a paddle wheel at the stern.

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Origin of sternwheeler

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; sternwheel + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sternwheeler in a sentence

His boat was a “stern-wheeler,” and is stated to have been capable of steaming five miles an hour.
A History of the Growth of the Steam-Engine|Robert H. Thurston
In this model Fitch shifted the paddles from the sides to the rear, thus anticipating in principle the modern stern-wheeler.
The Paths of Inland Commerce|Archer B. Hulbert
There was another boat that left Paducah the same time we did, the "Masonic Gem," a stern-wheeler about the same size of our boat.
The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865|Leander Stillwell
A type of river steamer which will amaze the American is an old stern-wheeler run by man power.
The Critic in the Orient|George Hamlin Fitch

She was a small stern-wheeler, not unlike the boats which run on the upper Missouri.
The Trail of the Goldseekers|Hamlin Garland

British Dictionary definitions for sternwheeler

stern-wheeler

noun

a vessel, esp a riverboat, propelled by a large paddle wheel at the sternCompare sidewheeler

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