Definition of "steerage" [steer•age]

• The act or practice of steering. (noun)
• Nautical The effect of the helm on a ship. (noun)
• Nautical The steering apparatus of a ship. (noun)
• Nautical The section of a passenger ship, originally near the rudder, providing the cheapest passenger accommodations. (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.

• "In another five minutes we had steerage from the filled sail, and"
• "Besides, there was an equally good bunk all the way across the width of the steerage from the Chinaman's."
• "Number 1: “They are still rowdy in steerage sir, a bunch of Indians and Chinese think they deserve to be up here in the First Class cocktail lounge”"