oversteer

noun

over·​steer ˈō-vər-ˌstir 

: the tendency of an automobile to steer into a sharper turn than the driver intends sometimes with a thrusting of the rear to the outside

also : the action or an instance of oversteer

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Indeed, with the help of the Pirellis, the SE generated an impressive 0.82 g on the skidpad, balanced on the fine edge of oversteer. —Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 1 Feb. 2023

Throw everything toward the bow, and the 5 N acts just like a front-wheel-drive car would on the ice—terminal understeer with bouts of liftoff oversteer. —Andrew Krok, Car and Driver, 16 Mar. 2023

Torque is again focused to the rear, but the electronics are tuned to nearly eliminate dreaded understeer and twitchy oversteer for the fastest possible velocity around a corner. —Michael Harley, Forbes, 2 June 2022

Foot to the floor acceleration through the curve and slalom resulted in just smooth, neutral handling with no oversteer or understeer and no jerking of the car around as the brakes shifted from side to side. —Sam Abuelsamid, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2023

The steering is a little wooden-feeling at times—too slow, a bit too heavy, and slightly numb to the touch—but any front-driver that can be cajoled into oversteer is all right by us. —Don Sherman, Car and Driver, 22 Feb. 2023

The cornering response is then linear, with a noticeable bias toward oversteer that encourages tail-out driving. —Csaba Csere, Car and Driver, 1 Feb. 2023

Single Motor trim, which can almost create Porsche 911-esque throttle-liftoff oversteer due to the front-wheel regen and often becomes a handful during aggressive driving. —Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 2 Dec. 2022

And while the more potent rear motor seems like a power-oversteer dream, the only partially defeatable stability control awakens you to a less fun reality. —Dave Vanderwerp, Car and Driver, 8 Dec. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above