stern
To propel or move backward or stern-first in the waterTo propel or move backward or stern-first in the water.
Recorded US: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
» Her stern look got him to quit talking.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(ambitransitive)To propel or move backward or stern-first in the water.
(ambitransitive, obsolete)To steer, to direct the course of (a ship).
Examples
56 sentencesHer stern look got him to quit talking.
Mary gave Tom a stern look.
ruМэри одарила Тома суровым взглядом. — Karok
deMaria warf Tom einen strengen Blick zu. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Tom gave Mary a stern look.
ruТом окинул Мэри строгим взглядом. — odexed
Tom looks stern.
deTom sieht streng aus. — Felixjp
The cat just gave him a stern look.
Кіт лише сурово на нього подивився. — deniko
Origin
Inherited from Middle English sterne, likely from Old Norse stjórn (“control, steering”),Inherited from Middle English sterne, likely from Old Norse stjórn (“control, steering”), related to stýra (“to steer”), from Proto-Germanic *stiurijaną, whence also English steer. Also possibly from Old Frisian stiarne (“rudder”), from the same Germanic root. The sense referring to a management post alludes to the fact that a sailing ship's captain would often stand on an aft deck.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
sterns, sterning, sterned, sternedLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.