aft

1 of 5

adverb

ˈaft 

: near, toward, or in the stern of a ship or the tail of an aircraft

called all hands aft

aft

2 of 5

adjective

1

: located toward the rear and especially toward the stern of a ship or tail of an aircraft

the aft deck

2

: directed toward the rear

moving in a fore and aft direction

aft

3 of 5

Scottish variant of oft

aft

4 of 5

abbreviation (1)

afternoon

AFT

5 of 5

abbreviation

1

American Federation of Teachers

2

automatic fine-tuning

Synonyms of aft

Adverb

• astern
• behind
• backward
• back
• abaft

Adjective

• rear
• back
• hind

Examples of aft in a Sentence

Adverb

We stood on the ship's deck facing aft.

The plane's exits are located fore and aft.

Adjective

the ship's fore and aft cabins

The fore and aft exits can both be used in an emergency.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

Also of note is the Dusk Bar, which sits aft on Deck 10 and is stocked with interesting spirits. — David Swanson, Travel + Leisure, 27 May 2024

Open exterior decks forward and aft allow for a steady sea breeze, as the owner—who was last aboard his yacht in the summer of 2021—used to regularly enjoy. — Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 10 Feb. 2023

Adjective

One of Windstar’s signature amenities is the aft marina on each ship, which is deployed when conditions are favorable. — Erica Silverstein, Travel + Leisure, 4 Aug. 2026

This plug protected one of the 59 screws attaching the aft heatshield to the Apollo 8 command module in December 1968. — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 16 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adverb

Middle English afte "back," going back to Old English æftan "behind, from behind," going back to Germanic *aftana (whence Old Saxon at aftan "last," Middle High German aften "behind, later," Old Norse aptan "from behind, behind," Gothic aftana "from behind"), from *aft- "behind" (probably secondarily from *after- after entry 1, parsed as aft- + -er-) + -ana "from (a place)"

Note: The suffix -(a)na has been traced to a putative Indo-European *-nē (in pre-laryngealist terms), to be found in Sanskrit vinā "without," Latin superne "from above," inferne "from below," Old Church Slavic vŭně "outside." All these compared elements can be given other explanations, however, and the origin of the suffix is not clear.

Adjective

derivative of aft entry 1

First Known Use

Adverb

1580, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1711, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing aft

• aft of
• fore and aft
• fore-and-aft rig

Rhymes for aft

• chaffed
• craft
• daft
• draft
• draught
• graft
• graphed
• haft
• kraft
• laughed
• raft
• shaft

Kids Definition

aft

adverb

ˈaft

: near, toward, or in the stern of a ship or the tail of an aircraft