Meaning & use
steers
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“steers” is a form of “steer”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Controls the direction of a vehicle or vessel.
Grammar: Takes an object: steer the car. Often followed by an adverb or preposition: steer left, steer into the driveway.
Patterns
- steer something
- steer something toward something
- steer something away from something
She steered the boat carefully into the harbor.
He steered the car around the fallen tree.
The pilot steered the plane through heavy clouds.
verbtransitive
Guides or directs someone or something in a particular direction or course.
Grammar: Takes an object: steer the conversation. Often used with toward, away from, or into.
Patterns
- steer someone toward something
- steer something away from something
- steer the conversation
The teacher steered the discussion toward the main topic.
She tried to steer him away from making a bad decision.
Good managers steer their teams through difficult times.
nouncountable
A young bull that has been castrated, usually raised for beef.
Grammar: Countable noun; plural is steers. Not commonly used in everyday conversation outside farming.
Patterns
- a herd of steers
- raise steers
The farmer raised steers for beef.
A herd of steers grazed in the field.
They sold the steers at the market.
Word forms
| third-person singular | steers |
|---|---|
| past tense | steered |
| past participle | steered |
| -ing form | steering |
| plural | steers |
Common combinations
- steer clear of
- She steered clear of the argument.
- steer the conversation
- He steered the conversation to safer topics.
- steer a course
- The captain steered a course through the islands.
- steer toward
- The company is steering toward a greener future.
Synonyms and how they differ
- guide
- Guide often suggests showing the way or giving advice, while steer emphasizes controlling direction.
- direct
- Direct is more formal and can mean to manage or control, while steer is often used with physical movement or conversation.
- navigate
- Navigate focuses on planning and following a route, especially at sea or in the air; steer is the physical act of turning the wheel or rudder.
Word family
Commonly confused: steers or stear?
steers vs stear
Stear is not a common English word; steer is the correct spelling for both the verb and the animal.
Practice
Choose the correct word: The driver ______ the car into the parking space.
Choose one answer.
The past tense of steer is steered, so 'steered' fits the past tense sentence. 'Steared' is a misspelling, 'stirred' means mixed, and 'steers' is present tense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “steers”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.