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Glite Dictionary
to steady the ship

to steady the ship

6.1
To make a situation calm and stable during a difficult time
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : estabilizar la situación
  • In response to the financial turmoil, the board of directors met to discuss how they could steady the ship and restore investor confidence.

Examples

  • You steadied the ship.

    What Happens Later (2023)

  • Mark Thompson was the man brought in to steady the ship, and part of his reshuffle of the BBC's news and current affairs division saw the rise of a more risk-averse approach.

    Blog text (19)

  • '...did nothing to steady the ship.

    Frank (2014)

  • Hamburg, after a disastrous start to the season, seems to have steadied the ship.

    Blog text (31)

  • After the unexpected crisis, the manager took immediate steps to steady the ship and ensure the team's focus.

  • The new CEO's strategic decisions helped steady the ship amidst declining sales and employee unrest.

Synonyms

to stabilize
vsto steady the ship
  • US
197 3.7

To make something steady so it stops moving or falling

is about taking action to restore order during trouble rather than just preventing change
to steady
vsto steady the ship
41 3.4

To make yourself or something stop moving

emphasizes restoring order during difficult times rather than physical balance
to right the ship
vsto steady the ship
  • Informal
4 7.0

Fix a troubled company or team so it works well again

is action taken to restore order during difficult or uncertain times

Antonyms

to upset
57 3.0

Make something fall over or move out of place

disorder
31 3.7

A state in which things or places are not arranged

How Stabilizing

to right the ship
  • Informal
4 7.0
to stabilize
  • US
75 4.3
to steady the ship
6.1
fix
76 1.0

Surface Forms

steady the ship infinitive
steadied the ship past
steadied the ship past participle
steadying the ship present participle
steadies the ship third person singular

Morphology

steady + the + ship

The literal meaning is directly built from 'steady' (to make stable) + 'ship' (a vessel), so the basic sense 'make the ship stable' is derivable from the parts. However, its frequent figurative use to mean 'restore order or stabilize an organization' is a metaphorical extension that a B1 learner may not automatically infer from the literal composition, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Steady the ship comes from sailors who, in a storm, would steer and tighten ropes so the ship stopped rolling and became steady. So today steady the ship means 'take action to make things calm and under control'.