steer
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English steeren, steren, stiren, sturen, steoren, from Old English stēoran, stīeran, stȳran (“to steer; guide a vessel”), from Proto-Germanic *stiurijaną (“to steer”).
The noun is from Middle English steere, stere, steor, from Old English stēor, stȳr (“steering; guidance; direction”). Compare Dutch stuur, German Steuer, Icelandic stýri.
Verb
steer (third-person singular simple present steers, present participle steering, simple past and past participle steered)
- (intransitive) To guide the course of a vessel, vehicle, aircraft etc. (by means of a device such as a rudder, paddle, or steering wheel).
- The boat steered towards the iceberg.
- I steered homeward.
- (transitive) To guide the course of a vessel, vehicle, aircraft etc. (by means of a device such as a rudder, paddle, or steering wheel).
- I find it very difficult to steer a skateboard.
- When planning the boat trip, we had completely forgotten that we needed somebody to steer.
- 1842, Lord Alfred Tennyson, Sir Galahad:
- I leap on board: no helmsman steers: I float till all is dark.
- (intransitive) To be directed and governed; to take a direction, or course; to obey the helm.
- The boat steers easily.
- 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 9:
- Where the wind / Veers oft, as oft [a ship] so steers, and shifts her sail.
- (transitive) To direct a group of animals.
- (transitive) To maneuver or manipulate a person or group into a place or course of action.
- Hume believes that principles of association steer the imagination of artists.
- (transitive) To direct a conversation.
- To conduct oneself; to take or pursue a course of action.
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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See also
Noun
steer (plural steers)
- (informal) A suggestion about a course of action.
- 1939, Mark Hellinger, The Roaring Twenties:
- I tried to give you the steer, but I guess I didn't get it over. Everybody knew it but you.
- (obsolete) A helmsman; a pilot.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English stere, steer, ster, steor, from Old English stēor (“a young bull or cow; steer”), from Proto-Germanic *steuraz (“bull; steer”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)táwros (“wild bull; aurochs”). Cognate with Dutch stier, German Stier, Icelandic stjór, Latin taurus (“bull”), Greek ταύρος (távros).
Noun
steer (plural steers)
- The castrated male of cattle, especially one raised for beef production.
- 1913, Willa Cather, O Pioneers!, chapter 2
- He counted the cattle over and over. It diverted him to speculate as to how much weight each of the steers would probably put on by spring.
- 1913, Willa Cather, O Pioneers!, chapter 2
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Coordinate terms
Translations
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Verb
steer (third-person singular simple present steers, present participle steering, simple past and past participle steered)
- (transitive) To castrate (a male calf).
Translations
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Anagrams
Scots
Noun
steer
Anagrams
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪə(r)
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
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- Requests for quotations/Chaucer
- English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
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- English ergative verbs
- en:Cattle
- en:Male animals
- Scots lemmas
- Scots nouns