stern

The blaze originated in the stern, sending passengers fleeing to the bow where they were all given life jackets, Muhammad said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall were "given stern warnings" concerning alleged offences under two laws that restrict the public display of foreign flags and regulate political expressions at public events.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Thanks to her technical prowess, VanderMeer took the stroke seat, the rower in the stern who sets the rhythm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

“That stern mom voice, that’s the one you use.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

She gave the whole band a stern look over her music stand.

From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee

Navy said Revolutionary Guard vessels repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of several American ships at close range and high speed in the northern Gulf.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 22, 2020

With the sterns half-ashore, breakers could then cut in and dismantle the ships laterally, as a snacker might eat through a baguette.

From The Guardian ● May 2, 2017

Thousands of office workers rush past it every day without noticing its three bay windows carved as the sterns of baroque frigates, complete with waves, dolphins and trailing seaweed.

From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2015

Few are fast enough to drop a depth charge and get away far enough to keep their own sterns from being blown off.

From Time Magazine Archive

When seventeenth-century European sailors first saw the southern skies they put objects of seventeenth- century interest in the heavens—toucans and peacocks, telescopes and microscopes, compasses and the sterns of ships.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

With his latest, “Kontinental ’25,” Jude — who also put out a coarsely wacky version of “Dracula” last year — shifts away from clownishness and toward a sterner register of concern for society.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

Rosenior will face a sterner test in his first home game on Wednesday when Chelsea host Premier League leaders Arsenal in the League Cup semi-final first leg.

From Barron's ● Jan. 10, 2026

Both of O'Neill's Premiership matches have been at home and sterner tests than Falkirk and Kilmarnock await.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025

But it remains to be seen whether this president and the country he leads are ready for the sterner tests to come.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

‘Go now and rest as you may. Tomorrow’s need will be sterner.’

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

It was probably the sternest test the Americans have faced in the tournament.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

The blockage in the Persian Gulf poses the sternest test the reserves have ever faced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026

The challenge comes just as investors’ appetite for risk, and sentiment regarding tech stocks, face their sternest tests since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.

From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026

Serbia, in those more hostile surroundings, will present the sternest challenge of Tuchel's reign.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2025

Even the sternest teachers and the brash older girls with whom you hardly dared to speak smiled at you in a special, knowing way your whole birthday long.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood