stern·post

(stûrn′pōst′)

n. Nautical

The principal upright post at the stern of a vessel, usually serving to support the rudder.

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.

sternpost

(ˈstɜːnˌpəʊst)

(Nautical Terms) nautical the main upright timber or structure at 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

stern•post

(ˈstɜrnˌpoʊst)

n.

an upright member rising from the after end of a keel; a rudderpost or propeller post.

[1570–80]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

sternpost - (nautical) the principal upright timber at the stern of a vessel

sailing, seafaring, navigation - the work of a sailor

timber - a beam made of wood

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The type of rudder is unaffected by the new rules, so we may expect to see the Long-Davidson make (the patent on which has just expired) come largely into use henceforward, though the strain on the sternpost in turning at speeds over forty miles an hour is admittedly very severe.

View in context

The CPAT website says the preliminary survey found that the vessel appeared to be lying on its keel, with its sternpost visible.

shipwreck found off coast of Abergele

At more than 26 metres in length, the Isle aux Morts ship was bigger than the San Juan, wrecked at Red Bay in 1565, which measured 14.73 metres at the keel and 22 metres between the tops of the stem and the sternpost (Loewen, 2007: 28).

The Isle aux Morts Shipwreck: A Contribution to Seventeenth-Century Material Culture in Newfoundland

shooting across its bow, using high-powered water houses, maneuvering in front of the vessel to stop it, and disabling its rudder or sternpost ?

(DIP) TURKEY'S INTERIM REPORT ABOUT MAVI MARMARA ATTACK (3)

The explosion fractured the sternpost, distorted the starboard inboard propeller shaft, and flooded three compartments.

Tactical success, operational failure

Miles and miles of pack ice, driven by the power of the Weddell Sea, converged on the valiant ship, tearing off the rudder and sternpost and driving her keel upwards, shattering her timbers and bursting her stout hardwood beams.

Icebound: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition of 1914-16 stands as an example of inspired leadership and displays the utter necessity, in times of crisis, of god's providence

Leaning heavily to port, the 200ft Al Mansur was at the whim of the tide, bobbing around the main dock of Basra surrounded by an ugly puddle of diesel oil, its Iraqi flag hanging limp and torn at its sternpost.

Iraq War: Saddam's pride and joy adrift