Nautical Term: Veer

Definition of Veer

{To change the direction of a sail or a vessel by slacking off one side or the other, thus causing the vessel or sail to turn in that direction. For instance, in a paragraph describing a sailor steering a ship through a storm, it could be written: The sailor veered the ship’s wheel sharply to starboard, causing the sails to slack on that side and fill on the other, turning the ship’s bow into the wind and the storm’s waves, enabling the sailor to better steer the ship through the storm.}

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