Definition of "stern-wheeler" [stern•-wheel•er]

• A steamboat propelled by a paddle wheel at the stern. (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.

• "And of what value was hereditary prestige, when he who now chopped the most wood, or best conned a stern-wheeler through the island mazes, attained the chiefest consideration of his fellows?"
• "Originally named the Mark Twain Steamboat when the park opened in 1955, the stately, 5/8-scale stern-wheeler was the first functional riverboat to be built in the United States for fifty years."
• "I was on hand as the stern-wheeler edged into the wharf with her whistle screaming, and there on the top deck was the tall figure, one elegant gloved hand on the rail, her face shaded by a broad feathered hat."