rudder
/ˈɹʌdɚ/ noun C1- An underwater vane used to steer a vessel. The rudder is controlled by means of a wheel, tiller or other apparatus (modern vessels can be controlled even with a joystick or an autopilot).
- A control surface on the vertical stabilizer of a fixed-wing aircraft or an autogyro. On some craft, the entire vertical stabilizer comprises the rudder. The rudder is controlled by foot-operated control pedals.
- A riddle or sieve.
- That which resembles a rudder as a guide or governor; that which guides or governs the course.
- The tail of an otter.
Plural rudders
From the library
Another flash showed him four men clinging to the shattered mast and the rigging, while a fifth clung to the broken rudder.
The young man took the helm, felt to see if the vessel answered the rudder promptly and seeing that, without being a first-rate sailor, she yet was tolerably obedient.
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