yaw

2 definitions • 4 examples

If an aircraft or ship yaws, it moves slightly to the side of its intended direction:

The boat pitched and yawed in the bay.

Witnesses to the crash reported seeing the Challenger yaw to the right.

a slight movement of an aircraft or ship, to the side of its intended direction:

The rudder is a vertical flap on the tail that controls yaw.

I felt a slight pitch and yaw, like a hiccup in the floor beneath me.