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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. adv. At, in, toward, or close to the stern of a vessel or the rear of an aircraft or spacecraft.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. Oft; often.
  2. Nautical, in, near, or toward the stern of a ship: as, the aft part of the ship; haul aft the main-sheet, that is, further toward the stern.

Wiktionary

  1. adv. At, near, or towards the stern of a vessel (with the frame of reference within the vessel).

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. adv. Near or towards the stern of a vessel; astern; abaft.

WordNet 3.0

  1. adv. at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane
  2. adj. (nautical, aeronautical) situated at or toward the stern or tail

Etymologies

  1. Middle English afte, back, from Old English æftan, behind; see apo- in Indo-European roots.

Examples

  • “The owner was dancing excitedly about and demanding an explanation, but by that time Big Alec's partner had crawled aft from the bowsprit and was peering apprehensively over the rail into the cockpit.”

    The King of the Greeks

  • “This, of necessity, was the severest of all, for he had been compelled to load his comrade in aft of the balance.”

    Chapter VIII

  • “You see, I am no navigator, he explained a few minutes later, as he stood by the captain aft, the latter with gaze wandering from aloft to overside as he estimated the Pyrenees 'speed.”

    THE SEED OF McCOY

  • “He had wrapped the case in plastic and tied it carefully to the bar in front of the stern seat, which we now knew—thanks to Jane—was called the aft thwart.”

    Simon & Schuster: Every little thing in the world

  • “At this moment the steward, bound aft from the galley, paused in the doorway and listened, grinning.”

    Chapter 31

  • “I caught him aft from the galley on a trip to the lazarette for provisions.”

    Chapter 31

  • “Oh, well, the sailors for'ard may be hard-bitten, but I can promise Miss West that here, aft, is one male passenger, unmarried and never married, who is an equally hard-bitten adventurer on the sea of matrimony.”

    Chapter 15

  • “Housed in the aft were a pair of massive inboard engines.”

    Simon & Schuster: Gideon’s war

  • “You can adjust them not only up/down, but also fore/aft, which is a huge improvement in comfort.”

    USATODAY.com News

  • “After all micro$aft is trying to play catch up.”

    Windows 7 Australian Upgrade Pricing: Unclear, Expensive | Lifehacker Australia

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‘aft’ has been looked up 1159 times, loved by 2 people, added to 22 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 6.