From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishasterna‧stern /əˈstɜːn $ -ɜːrn/ adverb TTWin or at the back of a ship
Examples from the Corpus
astern• So you will normally know whether the station is to your left or right and whether it is ahead of astern. 5.• On the afternoon of 23 November 1939, as it was growing dark, two warships were reported approaching from astern.• Titch cruised past the Wheel, then put the motor astern and backed up to it.• Then the breakers were all astern and Terrie was coming round to starboard to motor up the back of the reef.• Lambert who was leading on this occasion, ordered the formation to go into line astern for the attack.• It reared up astern, its crest breaking, the wind turning the surf into a feather of blown spray.• With the wind and waves astern Nada gathered momentum: no turning back now.• When 420 knots shows on the airspeed indicator, I fall in line astern of him. 