Definition
Tilted or set at an angle from a reference plane (typically vertical or horizontal). In the turn coordinator, the gyro is canted — its spin axis is tilted upward about 30 degrees from horizontal — so the instrument senses both roll and yaw rather than yaw alone.
Plain English
Set on a slant rather than straight up-and-down or flat. The part is deliberately mounted at an angle so it can sense things it otherwise couldn't.
Context Anchor
Seen in turn coordinator descriptions, especially when explaining why the instrument reacts as the airplane starts to enter a turn.
Derivation
From the older English and French word 'cant,' meaning a slope, slant, or tilted edge. If something is canted, it has been put on a cant — placed at an angle.
Why Pilots Care
The canted mounting lets one instrument display both roll and turn information, helping the pilot keep turns coordinated.
Intuition Check
Canted does not mean accidentally bent, crooked, or installed wrong. Here it means intentionally tilted to a specific angle so the instrument works as designed.
Example Sentence 1
Because the turn coordinator's gyro is canted, it senses both the roll into the turn and the yaw once the turn is established.
Example Sentence 2
Because the gyro is canted, the instrument needle moves during a roll even before the airplane has begun to yaw.