Rudder1. (n.) A riddle or sieve.
2. (n.) The mechanical appliance by means of which a vessel is guided or steered when in motion. It is a broad and flat blade made of wood or iron, with a long shank, and is fastened in an upright position, usually by one edge, to the sternpost of the vessel in such a way that it can be turned from side to side in the water by means of a tiller, wheel, or other attachment.
3. (n.) Fig.: That which resembles a rudder as a guide or governor; that which guides or governs the course.
Thesaurus Entries
adjustable propeller, afterburner, aileron, air controls, air scoop, aircraft, airlift, airplane, airscrew, astrodome, avion, balloon, bay, be airborne, beaching gear, blister, body, bomb bay, bonnet, bow, brace wire, bubble, bubble canopy, bubble hood, bucket seat, cabin, canopy, cat strip, chassis, chin, coaxial propellers, cockpit, coke-bottle fuselage, control surface, control wires, cowl, crew compartment, cruise, deck, dihedral, dorsal airdome, drift, dual controls, ejection seat, ejector, elevator, elevon, ferry, fin, finger patch, flap, flit, float, fly, flying machine, fuel injector, fuselage, gas-shaft hood, glide, gore, gull wing, gun mount, hatch, heavier-than-air craft, hood, hop, hover, hydroplane, instruments, jackstay, jet, jet pipe, keel, kite, laminar-flow system, landing gear, launching gear, launching tube, leading edge, longeron, nacelle, navigate, nose, pants, parasol wing, plane, pod, pontoon, prop, propeller, rudder, rudder bar, sail, sailplane, seaplane, ship, ski landing gear, slitwing, soar, spinner, spoiler, spray strip, stabilizator, stabilizer, stay, stick, stick control, stressed skin, strut, tail, tail plane, tail skid, take the air, take wing, truss, turret, undercarriage, volplane, wheel parts, wing, wing radiator