steerer

English

Etymology

From steer + -er.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈstɪəɹə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈstɪɹɚ/
• (US, without the mirror–nearer merger) IPA^(key): /ˈstɪəɹə(ɹ)/, /ˈstiɹə(ɹ)/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈstiəɹə/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈstiɹəɹ/
• (East Anglia, cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /ˈstɛːɹə/
• Rhymes: -ɪəɹə(ɹ)
• Homophone: starer (cheer–chair merger)

Noun

steerer (plural steerers)

1. Someone or something that steers.
2. A person hired by a gambling establishment to locate potential customers and bring them in.

   Synonyms: lugger, picker-up, roper, runner

   • 1961, John Scarne, Complete guide to gambling, page 232:

     It isn't long before the casino help are telling their friends not to patronize the joint, and they in turn tell their friends, and in a very short time hundreds of people know all about it. At this point, the only way to get action is to hire a flock of steerers […]

Derived terms

• bunco-steerer
• steerer tube

Anagrams

• resteer, retrees, tererés, tererês