stabiliser

Everyday

1. (UK) Stabilisers are the two small extra wheels on the back of a child's bicycle that stop it falling over while you learn to ride (US: training wheels). tree →
2. A stabiliser is any part or device that keeps something steady, such as the fins on a ship or the small horizontal wings at the back of an aeroplane. tree →
3. (food, science) A stabiliser is a substance added to food or chemicals to keep them mixed and stop them changing. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life children learn to ride a bike "without stabilisers". In science and D and T lessons stabilisers keep boats, planes and structures balanced. On food labels, stabilisers are listed among ingredients (for example in ice cream). Phrases: "take off the stabilisers", "ride without stabilisers".

Examples

• I learned to ride without stabilisers when I was five. tree →
• Dad took the stabilisers off my bike. tree →
• In America they call stabilisers training wheels. tree →
• Big ships have stabilisers to stop them rolling in waves. tree →
• The ice cream has a stabiliser to keep it smooth. tree →
• The plane's stabiliser helps it fly straight. tree →
• She still needs stabilisers on her bike. tree →

Note

UK spelling with s (stabiliser); US with z (stabilizer). Verb: stabilise. Countable: a stabiliser, stabilisers. "Training wheels" is the US and Canadian word for bike stabilisers.