Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To turn less sharply than the operator would expect. Used of vehicles, especially automobiles.
  • noun The tendency of a vehicle to understeer.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The condition in which the front wheels of a car don't follow the desired curve while cornering, instead following a more straight line trajectory. The front wheels loosing a degree of traction and so slipping off the required line.
  • verb The action of a car when it does not follow the desired curve while cornering. Tyre slip of the front wheels.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

under + steer

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Examples

  • One is called understeer, one is called oversteer.

    CNN Transcript Jan 18, 2007 2007

  • One is called understeer, one is called oversteer.

    CNN Transcript Jan 18, 2007 2007

  • One is called understeer, one is called oversteer.

    CNN Transcript Jan 18, 2007 2007

  • In corners the main trait is push-on understeer, which is right and proper for a car such as this, and although there's a degree of adjustment allowed in the chassis if you lift off the throttle, Renault's Twingo and Ford's Ka are better driver's propositions.

    Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph Andrew English 2011

  • Sure ... everything reacts just as you'd expect from a mid-size crossover, which is to say understeer, understeer and more understeer.

    Autoblog 2009

  • While some racing drivers prefer their cars to handle with a trace of "understeer" the tendency for the front wheels to slip when turning into a bend, making the car reluctant to enter a corner as precisely as the driver would like

    A Racing Legend's Long Ride 2010

  • While some racing drivers prefer their cars to handle with a trace of "understeer" the tendency for the front wheels to slip when turning into a bend, making the car reluctant to enter a corner as precisely as the driver would like

    A Racing Legend's Long Ride 2010

  • Teammate Rosberg said both drivers were struggling with understeer, but came with equal cars.

    F1 leader Jenson Button ready for title defense at Spanish Grand Prix 2010

  • Hyundai The car exhibits reasonable body and pitch control, but nonetheless feels large in corners and increasingly unhappy as the g-forces increase, tending toward a pretty insistent understeer, despite its 19-inch sport tires.

    Horse of a Different Dolor 2011

  • The car exhibits reasonable body and pitch control — the adaptive air suspension with continuous damping helps — but the Equus nonetheless feels large in corners and increasingly unhappy as the g-forces increase, tending toward a pretty insistent understeer, despite its 19-inch sport tires.

    Hyundai's Ur-Luxury Horse of a Different Dolor Dan Neil 2011

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