a·stern

(ə-stûrn′)

adv. & adj. Nautical

1. Behind a vessel.

2. At or to the stern of a vessel.

3. With or having the stern foremost; backward.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

astern

(əˈstɜːn)

adv, adj (postpositive)

1. (Nautical Terms) at or towards the stern

2. (Nautical Terms) with the stern first: full speed astern!.

3. (Nautical Terms) aft of the stern of a vessel

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•stern

(əˈstɜrn)

adv.

1. in a position behind a specified vessel or aircraft.

2. in a backward direction.

[1620–30]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adv.	1.	astern - stern foremost or backward; "the steamer went astern at half speed"
	2.	astern - at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane; "stow the luggage aft"; "ships with square sails sail fairly efficiently with the wind abaft"; "the captain looked astern to see what the fuss was about" abaft, aft
	3.	astern - (of a ship or an airplane) behind; "we dropped her astern on the end of a seven-inch manilla, and she laid comfortably on the ebb tide" aeroplane, airplane, plane - an aircraft that has a fixed wing and is powered by propellers or jets; "the flight was delayed due to trouble with the airplane" ship - a vessel that carries passengers or freight

Translations

achtern

a poppa andare indietro

aktenforakter

astern

[əˈstɜːn] ADV (Naut) → a popa
to fall astern → quedarse atrás
to go astern → ciar, ir hacia atrás
to make a boat fast astern → amarrar un barco por la popa
astern of → detrás de

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

astern

[əˈstɜː^rn] adv → à l'arrière

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

astern

(Naut)

adv → achtern; (= towards the stern) → nach achtern; (= backwards) → achteraus

prep astern (of) the ship → achteraus

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

astern

[əˈstɜːn] adv → a poppa

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

I came on deck, after a good night's rest in spite of my poor knee, to find the Ghost foaming along, wing-and- wing, and every sail drawing except the jibs, with a fresh breeze astern. Oh, the wonder of the great trade-wind!

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Let the carcase go astern! The vast tackles have now done their duty.

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The gunwale was lipping astern. Several times we shipped a little water, and my breeches and the tails of my coat were all soaking wet before we had gone a hundred yards.

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There was now a tender yellow moonlight on the river, and the new comer, keeping half his boat's length astern of the other boat looked hard at its track.

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It is the technical, as distinguished from the sentimental, "good-bye." Henceforth he has done with the coast astern of his ship.

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Pausing long enough to let go the jib halyards, and just as the Reindeer cleared and began to drift astern, I leaped aboard the junk with a line and made fast.

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When the Ariel cleared from Malu, on the north-west coast of Malaita, Malaita sank down beneath the sea-rim astern and, so far as Jerry's life was concerned, remained sunk for ever--another vanished world, that, in his consciousness, partook of the ultimate nothingness that had befallen Skipper.

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My eyes were glued upon the impenetrable mist astern, for there in the east I should see the first glow of the rising sun that would assure me we were still upon the right course.

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Some days elapsed, and ice and icebergs all astern, the Pequod now went rolling through the bright Quito spring, which, at sea, almost perpetually reigns on the threshold of the eternal August of the Tropic.

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Some time before I had reduced our speed, for we had left the Valley Dor many miles astern, and I felt comparatively safe.

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He came out on deck and, peering over the side, descried the lone canoe floating a short distance astern with its grim and grisly freight.

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I played the sailor and the man, fending off the skiff so that it would not mar the yacht's white paint, dropping the skiff astern on a long painter, and making the painter fast with two nonchalant half-hitches.

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