Plain English Meaning

Using the rudder to stop the airplane's nose from swinging sideways. You press the rudder pedal on the side opposite to the way the nose is moving, and as soon as the swinging stops you let the pedal return to neutral.

Full Definition

The pilot action of arresting an unwanted rotation of the airplane about its vertical axis by applying coordinated rudder input opposite to the direction of yaw, then neutralizing the rudder once the nose stops moving. In stall and incipient spin recovery, stopping the yaw is the critical step that prevents a developed spin, and it is performed before or simultaneously with reducing the angle of attack.

Context Anchor

Used in airplane control discussions, especially during stall and spin recovery, when the pilot must stop the airplane from continuing to .