Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

yaw

/jɔː/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.87 in modern English

Syllables
yaw
IPA
/jɔː/
9
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The rotation of an aircraft, ship, or missile about its vertical axis so as to cause the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, ship, or missile to deviate from the flight line or heading in its horizontal plane.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The angle between the longitudinal axis of a projectile at any moment and the tangent to the trajectory in the corresponding point of flight of the projectile.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A vessel's motion rotating about the vertical axis, so the bow yaws from side to side; a characteristic of unsteadiness.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The extent of yawing; the rotation angle about the vertical axis.

Countable; Uncountable

verb

To turn about the vertical axis while maintaining course.

Intransitive verb

verb

To swerve off course to port or starboard.

Intransitive verb

verb

To steer badly, zigzagging back and forth across the intended course of a boat; to go out of the line of course.

Intransitive verb

verb

To rise in blisters, breaking in white froth, as cane juice in the clarifiers in sugar works.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

Unknown, first attested in the mid-16th century. Perhaps related to yar (“quick, agile”), or alternatively from Old Norse jaga (“to chase, drive, move back and forth”), from Middle Low German jagen (“to hunt, chase, pursue”), from Old Saxon *jagōn, from Proto-West Germanic *jagōn, from Proto-Germanic *jakkōną (“to hunt”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: jaga, jagen, *jagōn, *jakkōną

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Military.

Inflected Forms

yaws (plural) yaws (present, singular) yawing (participle, present) yawed (participle, past) yawed (past)

Phrases

adverse yaw yaw damper yaw-haw yaw-weed

Frequently Paired Words

pitch roll heading surge scend yaw-haw yaw-weed

Synonyms

swerve gape yawn

Homonyms

yore (non-rhotic) your you're (some non-rhotic accents, especially with the pour–poor merger) y'all (l-vocalization)

Rhymes With

law in-law saw draw aw shaw withdraw straw jaw flaw claw paw

Questions

How do you pronounce yaw?
The recorded pronunciation is /jɔː/.
What does yaw mean?
The rotation of an aircraft, ship, or missile about its vertical axis so as to cause the longitudinal axis of the aircraft, ship, or missile to deviate from the flight line or heading in its horizontal plane.
Where does yaw come from?
It is traced to Old Norse.

How to pronounce yaw

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “yaw”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/jɔː/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “yaw”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “yaw” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.