Meaning & use

steerage

noun·Advanced

The cheapest, most basic accommodation on a passenger ship, historically located near the steering machinery.

See it in a sentence

Millions of immigrants crossed the Atlantic in steerage during the late nineteenth century.

Conditions in steerage were cramped, with little privacy and poor ventilation.

A note on using this word

Steerage disappeared as a class of travel once air travel replaced long ocean voyages for most passengers.

Words with a similar meaning

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