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yaw definition

yaw (yô)

intransitive verb

  1. to swing back and forth across its course, as a ship pushed by high waves
  2. to swing to the left or right on the vertical axis so that the longitudinal axis forms an angle with the line of flight; esp., to rotate or oscillate about the vertical axis: said of a projectile, aircraft, spacecraft, etc.

Etymology: ON jaga, to sway, move back and forth < or akin to Du & Ger jagen, to hunt

transitive verb

to cause to yaw

noun

  1. an act of yawing
  2. the angle formed by a yawing craft

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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