Definition of sternest:
(adj) :
Having a hardness and severity of nature or manner.
(adj) :
Grim and forbidding in appearance.
(n) :
(nautical) The rear part (after end) of a ship or other vessel.
(n) :
The hinder part of anything.
(n) :
The tail of an animal; now used only of the tail of a dog.
(v) :
(ambitransitive, nautical) To propel or move backward or stern-first in the water.