The Collaborative Dictionary

Yaw \Yaw\ (y[add]), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Yawed (y[add]d); p. pr. & vb. n. Yawing.] [Cf. Yew, v. i.] To rise in blisters, breaking in white froth, as cane juice in the clarifiers in sugar works. [1913 Webster]

Yaw \Yaw\, v. i. & t. [Cf. Prov. G. gagen to rock, gageln to totter, shake, Norw. gaga to bend backward, Icel. gagr bent back, gaga to throw the neck back.] (Naut.) To steer wild, or out of the line of her course; to deviate from her course, as when struck by a heavy sea; -- said of a ship. [1913 Webster] Just as he would lay the ship's course, all yawing being out of the question. --Lowell. [1913 Webster]

Yaw \Yaw\, n. (Naut.) A movement of a vessel by which she temporarily alters her course; a deviation from a straight course in steering. [1913 Webster]

Word Net

yaw n : an erratic deflection from an intended course [syn: swerve]

1 be wide open; "the deep gaping canyon" [syn: gape, yawn]

2 deviate erratically from a set course; "the yawing motion of the ship"

3 swerve off course momentarily; "the ship yawed when the huge waves hit it"

Moby Thesaurus

aberrancy, aberration, about ship, back and fill, bank, bear away, bear off, bear to starboard, beat, beat about, bend, bias, box off, branching off, break, bring about, bring round, cant, cant round, cast, cast about, change course, change the heading, circuitousness, come about, corner, crab, crook, curve, declination, deflection, departure, detour, deviance, deviancy, deviation, deviousness, digression, dip, discursion, divagation, divarication, divergence, diversion, dogleg, double, double a point, drift, drift off course, drifting, drive, errantry, excursion, excursus, exorbitation, fall down, feather, fetch about, fetch away, fishtail, flounder, gape, go about, gybe, hairpin, heave, heave round, hobbyhorse, horizontal axis, indirection, jibe, jibe all standing, loop, lurch, make heavy weather, make leeway, miss stays, obliquity, pay off, pererration, pitch, pitch and toss, plow, plunge, ply, porpoise, pound, pull out, pull up, push down, put about, put back, rambling, rear, reel, rock, roll, round a point, sag, scend, sheer, shift, shifting, shifting course, shifting path, sideslip, skew, skid, slant, slew, spin, spiral, straying, stunt, swag, sway, sweep, swerve, swerving, swing, swing round, swing the stern, swinging, tack, throw about, tilt, tilter, toss, toss and tumble, tumble, turn, turn back, turning, twist, undulate, variation, veer, wallow, wandering, warp, wear, wear ship, welter, wind, yaw off, zigzag

English

Pronunciation

• , /jɔː/, /jO:/

  Rhymes with: -ɔː

  Homophones (non-rhotic accents): yore, your, you're

Verb

1. In the context of "intransitive|aviation": To turn about the vertical axis while maintaining course.
2. In the context of "intransitive|nautical": To swerve off course to port or starboard.
3. In the context of "intransitive|nautical": To steer badly, zigzagging back and forth across the intended course of a boat; to go out of the line of course.

Translations

• Italian: imbardare

Noun

1. The rotation of an aircraft, ship, or missile about its vertical axis so as to cause the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, ship, or missile to deviate from the flight line or heading in its horizontal plane.
2. The Angle between the longitudinal axis of a projectile at any moment and the tangent to the trajectory in the corresponding point of flight of the projectile.
3. An act of yawing.
4. A vessel's motion rotating about the vertical axis, so the bow yaws from side to side; a characteristic of unsteadiness.
5. The extent of yawing, the rotation angle about the vertical axis

   the yaw of an aircraft

Translations

• Italian: imbardata

See also

• heading
• pitch
• roll
• surge
• scend

The word yaw can refer to:

• Yaw, to rotate about a vertical axis; used in naval architecture, navigation, aeronautics and flight dynamics. Rotation about horizontal axes are called pitch and roll.
• Yaw angle, the angle about a vertical axis; used in naval architecture, navigation, aeronautics and flight dynamics. Angles about horizontal axes are called pitch angle and roll angle.
• Yaw (god), the Levantine god of chaos, rivers, the sea, and tempests;
• Yaw drive, an important component in wind turbines.
• The IATA code for Halifax/Shearwater Airport in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
• YAW, an acronym of "You Are Welcome".
• Ellen Beach Yaw, a singer at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.
• Yaw, an Akan day-name originating in Ghana and given to a male born on a Thursday.
• Yaw-Yan, a Filipino martial art developed by Napoleon Fernandez

See also:

• Yaws (disambiguation)
• your (pronoun)