Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A vertically hinged plate of metal, fiberglass, or wood mounted at the stern of a ship or boat for directing its course.
- noun A similar structure at the tail of an aircraft, used for effecting horizontal changes in course.
- noun A controlling agent or influence over direction; a guide.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A riddle or sieve.
- noun An obsolete form of
rother . - noun That part of the helm which is abaft the stern-post, and is turned by the tiller so as to expose its side more or less to the resistance of the water and thus direct the ship's course. It is usually hinged on the stern-post by pintles and gudgeons.
- noun That which guides or governs the course.
- noun . A kind of paddle to stir with.
- noun A bird's tail-feather; a rectrix: as, “rectrices, rudders, or true tail-feathers,”
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Prov. Eng. A riddle or sieve.
- noun (Naut.) The mechanical appliance by means of which a vessel is guided or steered when in motion. It is a broad and flat blade made of wood or iron, with a long shank, and is fastened in an upright position, usually by one edge, to the sternpost of the vessel in such a way that it can be turned from side to side in the water by means of a tiller, wheel, or other attachment.
- noun Fig.: That which resembles a rudder as a guide or governor; that which guides or governs the course.
- noun In an aircraft, a surface the function of which is to exert a turning moment about an axis of the craft.
- noun (Naut.) a rudder pivoted near the middle instead of at the edge, -- common on sharpies.
- noun (Naut.) a rudder extending below the keel so as to be more effective in steering.
- noun (Naut.) one of the loose chains or ropes which fasten the rudder to the quarters to prevent its loss in case it gets unshipped, and for operating it in case the tiller or the wheel is broken.
- noun (Naut.) a covering of tarred canvas used to prevent water from entering the rudderhole.
- noun (Zoöl.) A plain greenish black American fish (
Leirus perciformis ); -- called alsoblack rudder fish ,logfish , andbarrel fish . The name is also applied to other fishes which follow vessels. - noun (Naut.) ropes connected with the rudder chains.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun nautical An underwater
vane used to steer a vessel. The rudder is controlled by means of awheel ,tiller or other apparatus (modern vessels can be controlled even with ajoystick or anautopilot ). - noun aeronautics A
control surface on thevertical stabilizer of a fixed-wing aircraft or anautogyro . On some craft, the entire vertical stabilizer comprises the rudder. The rudder is controlled by foot-operated controlpedals .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a hinged vertical airfoil mounted at the tail of an aircraft and used to make horizontal course changes
- noun (nautical) steering mechanism consisting of a hinged vertical plate mounted at the stern of a vessel
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I know there's so much going on in the cockpit when you're trying to fly, and the rudders at your feet, the right and left rudder, is it possible that this could have been what we call a rudder roll?
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'The time seems coming when he who sees no world but that of courts and camps, and writes only how soldiers were drilled and shot, and how this ministerial conjurer out-conjured that other, and then guided, or at least held, something which he called the rudder of Government, but which was rather the spigot of Taxation, wherewith in place of steering he could tax, will pass for a more or less instructive
Obiter Dicta Augustine Birrell 1891
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Xisithrus says: he would not know a rudder from a prop
Think Progress » Obama explains climate science to global warming deniers. 2010
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LOL he would not know a rudder from a prop. February 19th, 2010 at 9: 22 pm
Think Progress » Obama explains climate science to global warming deniers. 2010
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“Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.”
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Xisithrus says: he would not know a rudder from a prop
Think Progress » Obama explains climate science to global warming deniers. 2010
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Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.
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“Man once surrendering his reason,” wrote Jefferson, “like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.
Think Progress » Report: Global Warming Pollution Has Doubled in 28 States Since 1960 2006
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If that rudder, which is attached right to the end of the stabilizer, if that's swinging out more than it should, it's going to be torn off the plane.
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The pedals work the rudder, which is not nearly as critical as the ailerons along the wing, controlled by the steering column.
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