Steering is the control of the direction of locomotion.A conventional automotive steering arrangement allows a driver to control the direction of the vehicle by turning the direction of the front wheels using a hand–operated steering wheel positioned in front of the driver. The steering wheel is attached to a steering column, which is linked to rods, pivots and gears that allow the driver to change the direction of the front wheels. Other arrangements are sometimes found on different types of vehicles; for example, a tiller or rear-wheel steering. Tracked vehicles such as bulldozers and tanks usually employ differential steering, where the tracks are made to move at different speeds or even in opposite directions, using the clutch and brakes, to achieve a change of direction.

Aircraft flight control systems are normally steered when airborne by the use of ailerons, spoilerons, or both to bank the aircraft into a turn; although the rudder can also be used to turn the aircraft, it is usually used to minimize adverse yaw, rather than as a means to directly cause the turn. On the ground, aircraft are generally steered at low speeds by turning the nosewheel or tailwheel (using a tiller or the rudder pedals) or through differential braking, and by the rudder at high speeds. Missiles, airships and large hovercraft are usually steered by a rudder, thrust vectoring, or both. Small sport hovercraft have similar rudders, but steer mostly by the pilot shifting their weight from side to side and unbalancing the more powerful lift forces beneath the skirt. Jet packs and flying platforms are steered by thrust vectoring only.Helicopter flight controls are steered by cyclic control, changing the thrust vector of the main rotor(s), and by anti-torque control, usually provided by a tail rotor.Ships and boats are usually steered with a rudder. Depending on the size of the vessel, rudders can be manually actuated, or operated using a servomechanism, or a trim tab or servo tab system. Boats using outboard motors steer by rotating the entire drive unit. Boats with inboard motors sometimes steer by rotating the propeller pod only (i.e. Volvo Penta IPS drive). Modern ships with diesel-electric drive use azimuth thrusters. Boats powered by oars or paddles are steered by generating a higher propulsion force on the side of the boat opposite of the direction of turn. Jet skis are steered by weight-shift induced roll and water jet thrust vectoring.The rudder of a vessel can steer the ship only when water is passing over it. Hence, when a ship is not moving relative to the water it is in or cannot move its rudder, it does not respond to the helm and is said to have "lost steerage". The motion of a ship through the water is known as "making way". Boats on rivers must always be under propulsion, even when traveling downstream, in order to steer, requiring sufficient water to pass over the surface of the rudder to effect changes in the direction of the boat in response to the helm. This is called having "steerage way".Common steering system components include:
Steering wheel
Steering column
Steering box
Pitman arm
Idler arm
Tie rod ends
Rack and pinion
Power steering pump
Power steering fluid
Steering linkage
Steering knuckle
Ball joints
Steering dampers