aft

A1F4T1
UK/ɑːft/Canada, US/æft/Australia, New Zealand/ɐːft/

adverb

At, near, or towards the stern of a vessel (with the frame of reference within the vessel).

Opposite
Less commonScrabble 6

Meanings

aft1

adverbaft (comparative further aft or farther aft or more aft, superlative furthest aft or farthest aft or most aft)

comparative further aft · comparative farther aft · comparative more aft · superlative furthest aft · superlative farthest aft · superlative most aft

  1. nauticalAt, near, or towards the stern of a vessel (with the frame of reference within the vessel).

    I came safe on board, but I felt anything but easy about the boat and the boy; my thoughts were not where they should be, for every moment I had to give the boat and the boy a look, and at last I saw a sea strike the boat aft, which gave it a send forward and under, and the next moment he was gone.

    1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 183

    Synonyms: abaft, astern

adjectiveaft (comparative further aft or farther aft or more aft, superlative furthest aft or farthest aft or most aft)

comparative further aft · comparative farther aft · comparative more aft · superlative furthest aft · superlative farthest aft · superlative most aft

  1. located at the back of a boat, ship, or airplane

aft2

nounaft (plural afts)

plural afts

  1. alternativedatedslangAlternative form of afternoon: the time of day from noon until early evening.

    There's gonna be an announcement later this aft, but he's targeting vulnerable people like yourselves, alright?

    2016, Sally Wainwright, 49:45 from the start, in Happy Valley, season 2, episode 1, spoken by Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire)
    1 more example

    A gents' toilet room might be found in a house that caters for the cheaper class of theatrical patronage, where the slangy language of the "goin' to the mat this aft?" style prevails. A gents toilet room is not found in the Southern Hotel. It either "men's" or "gentlemen's".

    1898, The Hotel/Motor Hotel Monthly, volume 6, page 27

    Synonyms: afternoon

AFT3

proper noun
  1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of American Federation of Teachers.

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbAt, near, or towards the stern of a vessel (with the frame of reference within the vessel).

Opposite

More synonyms by meaning

adjective(nautical, aeronautical) situated at or toward the stern or tail

Opposite

adverbat or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane

Opposite

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

aft · adverb, adjective

  1. Old Englishæftan“behind”
  2. Englishaft

From Old English æftan (“behind”); possibly originally superlative of of (“off”). See after.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian назад, към кърмата
  • назад (nazad)at, near, or towards the stern
  • към кърмата (kăm kărmata)at, near, or towards the stern
Dutch achterkant
  • achterkantlocated at the back of a vessel
Finnish perässä, perään
  • perässäat, near, or towards the stern
  • peräänat, near, or towards the stern
  • perä-located at the back of a vessel
French arrière
  • arrièrelocated at the back of a vessel
German achtern
  • achternat, near, or towards the stern
Hungarian hátul, hátra
  • hátulat, near, or towards the stern
  • hátraat, near, or towards the stern
  • hátrafeléat, near, or towards the stern
Irish sa deireadh, thiar sa deireadh
  • sa deireadhat, near, or towards the stern
  • thiar sa deireadhat, near, or towards the stern
Italian a poppa
  • a poppaat, near, or towards the stern
Māori kei te kei
  • kei te keiat, near, or towards the stern
Russian на корме, к корме
  • на кормеat, near, or towards the stern
  • к кормеat, near, or towards the stern
Spanish a popa
  • a popaat, near, or towards the stern
Swedish akterut, akteröver
  • akterutat, near, or towards the stern
  • akteröverat, near, or towards the stern

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with aft

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

aft. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aft

MLA

“aft.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aft. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aft,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aft.

Source: aft on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.