This word ‘steer’ is more commonly used as a verb to mean ‘to direct or move a vehicle in a particular direction’. For example, ‘She held the steering wheel of her car very tightly and steered it through the obstacles.’ And also to refer to keep a conversation or situation in a particular direction with careful strategy so that no harm or loss is done; mostly in phrases such as ‘steer clear of’, ‘steer someone or something out of trouble’, ‘to steer out of skid’, etc., For example, “When the two factions of the committee were almost at the verge of a fist-fight over the rotten financial condition of the association, the Chairperson of the committee steered the members neatly away from the heated debate by introducing a less controversial topic.”

‘Steer’, always with a capital ‘S’, is often found in the name of people, e.g.   For an article that explains the origin of this word as a surname, please click here.