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stern foremost or backward;
"the steamer went astern at half speed"
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at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane;
"stow the luggage aft"
"ships with square sails sail fairly efficiently with the wind abaft"
"the captain looked astern to see what the fuss was about"
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(of a ship or an airplane) behind;
"we dropped her astern on the end of a seven-inch manilla, and she laid comfortably on the ebb tide"