Definition of "stabilizer" [stabilizer]

• One that makes or keeps something stable: "The New Deal equipped the economy with built-in stabilizers” ( Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.) (noun)
• A device, such as a gyroscopically controlled fin, that prevents excessive rolling of a ship in heavy seas. (noun)
• An airfoil that stabilizes an aircraft or missile in flight. (noun)
• Chemistry A substance that renders or maintains a solution, mixture, suspension, or state resistant to chemical change. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The camcorder offers 10x optical zoom and built-in stabilizer, which is perfect for soccer moms or hockey dads who want to capture all the action from afar."
• "STABILIZER Adding a stabilizer is the easiest way to steady your bow and improve your shooting."
• "Why does it take 18 months to check these planes, these MD-80s, for what is called -- what they call stabilizer corrosion?"