Adverb
1. stern foremost or backward;
"the steamer went astern at half speed"2. 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"3. (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"