sternway

[ sturn-wey ]

/ ˈstɜrnˌweɪ /

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noun

Nautical. the movement of a vessel backward, or stern foremost.

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Origin of sternway

First recorded in 1760–70; stern² + way¹

Words nearby sternway

sternutation, sternutator, sternutatory, sternward, sternwards, sternway, sternwheel, sternwheeler, steroid, steroid acne, steroid hormone

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

How to use sternway in a sentence

Suddenly, glancing up at the dim cloud of sails above, I saw that we were aback and making sternway.
Richard Carvel, Complete|Winston Churchill
When sufficient sternway had been gathered the engines were put to full speed ahead to check her.
The Blocking of Zeebrugge|Alfred F. B. Carpenter
As far as could be seen, there was now nothing for'ard to prevent the submarine gathering sternway.
A Sub and a Submarine|Percy F. Westerman
He stopped his ship, and then backed water, making sternway to the Hartford, so as to stop her also.
Hero Tales From American History|Henry Cabot Lodge, and Theodore Roosevelt

The chief asks for the engines to be stopped; sternway is putting purchase on the binding pressure of the rudder.
Merchantmen-at-Arms|David W. Bone

British Dictionary definitions for sternway

sternway

/ (ˈstɜːnˌweɪ) /

noun

nautical movement of a vessel sternforemost

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