rudder
Syllables: rudd·erUK/ˈɹʌdəː//ˈɹʌdɚ/
rudder noun: 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).
Noun
rudder (plural rudders)
- 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.
- For rhyme the rudder is of verses,/With which, like ships, they steer their courses.1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, Part I, Canto I
- The tail of an otter.
- He sniffed Tarka’s hair from rudder to neck, and his nose remained at the neck. It was a strange smell, and he sniffed carefully, not wanting to touch the fur with his nostrils.1927, Henry William Williamson, Tarka the Otter, Chapter 19
rudder meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Telugu
rudder in Hindi
- underwater vane used to steer a vessel
- अरित्र aritra, पतवार patvār
rudder in Tamil
- சுக்கான், கப்பல்சுக்கான்
rudder in Bengali
- জাহাজ, বিমানের দিকনির্দেশক ফলক
rudder in Telugu
- a rudder, a helm
- చుక్కాని cukkāni
More languagesFewer languages
- rudder in Malayalam
- പങ്കായം, തുഴ
- rudder in Sanskrit
- काण्ड
- rudder in Arabic
- دَفَّة daffa, سُكَّان sukkān
- rudder in Malay
- rudder
- rudder in Indonesian
- daun kemudi, kemudi sepak, kemudi arah
- rudder in Persian
- خلاشه xalâše, سکان sokân
- rudder in Thai
- หางเสือ hǎang-sʉ̌ʉa, หางเสือเรือ hǎang-sʉ̌ʉa-rʉʉa, หางเสือเลี้ยว hǎang-sʉ̌ʉa-líao
- rudder in Vietnamese
- bánh lái
Examples of rudder in a sentence
- At slow taxiing speed, there is insufficient rudder authority to steer the aeroplane.
- Watch that small sailboat; see how Stephanie mans the rudder?
- The airplane's primary flight controls comprise elevators and ailerons driven by manually-controlled servo tabs, and a hydraulically-powered rudder and spoilerons.
Forms of rudder
| plural | rudders |
|---|
Origin of rudder
From Middle English rodder, rother, ruder, from Old English rōþor (“oar, rudder”), from Proto-West Germanic *rōþr, from Proto-Germanic *rōþrą (“oar, rudder”) (compare Dutch and West Frisian roer, German Ruder), from Proto-Germanic *rōaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (“to row”) + Proto-Germanic *-þrą, *-þraz, instrumental suffix. Akin to Old English rōwan (“to row”). More at rōwan, -þor.
Words formed from rudder
- balance rudder
- bow rudder
- drop rudder
- Dutch rudder
- rudder authority
- rudder blade
- rudder chain
- rudder coat
- ruddered
- rudderfish
- rudderhead
- rudderhole
- rudderless
- rudderlike
- rudderon
- rudder pendants
- rudderpost
- rudder roll
- rudderstock
- rudder stock
- ruddervator
Phrases with rudder
Words that rhyme with rudder
Questions about rudder
- What does rudder mean?
- Rudder means 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).
- What is rudder in Hindi?
- Rudder in Hindi is अरित्र (aritra), पतवार (patvār). See Rudder meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is rudder?
- Rudder is a noun.
- How do you pronounce rudder?
- Rudder is pronounced /ˈɹʌdəː/ (UK).
- What is the plural of rudder?
- The plural of rudder is rudders.
Words near rudder in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: rudder (page history and authors); rudder (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); rudder (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); చుక్కాని (Telugu) (page history and authors); rudder (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); काण्ड (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-rudder.ogg.
Cite this entry: “rudder.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rudder. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.