Also spelled stern-wheel
noun
Meanings
-
1
noun
a paddle wheel mounted at the stern of a vessel to propel it through the water
The sternwheel churned the muddy river as the steamboat pulled away from the landing.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
1
noun
· a paddle wheel mounted at...
stern paddle wheel
Word family
Derived forms
sternwheeler
Etymology
A nineteenth-century nautical compound of stern, the rear of a vessel, + wheel. It distinguishes a paddle wheel mounted behind a vessel from a sidewheel mounted along either side.