The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Steering \Steer"ing\,
   a. & n. from Steer, v.
   [1913 Webster]

   Steering wheel (Naut.), the wheel by means of which the
      rudder of a vessel is turned and the vessel is steered.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Steer \Steer\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Steered (st[=e]rd); p. pr.
   & vb. n. Steering.] [OE. steeren, steren, AS. sti['e]ran,
   st[=y]ran, ste['o]ran; akin to OFries. stiora, stiura, D.
   sturen, OD. stieren, G. steuern, OHG. stiuren to direct,
   support, G. steuer contribution, tax, Icel. st[=y]ra to
   steer, govern, Sw. styra, Dan. styre, Goth. stiurjan to
   establish, AS. ste['o]r a rudder, a helm, and probably to
   Icel. staurr a pale, stake, Gr. stayro`s, and perhaps
   ultimately to E. stand. [root]168. Cf. Starboard, Stern,
   n.]
   To direct the course of; to guide; to govern; -- applied
   especially to a vessel in the water.
   [1913 Webster]

         That with a staff his feeble steps did steer.
                                                  --Spenser.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

steering
    n 1: the act of guiding or showing the way [syn: guidance,
         steering]
    2: the act of setting and holding a course; "a new council was
       installed under the direction of the king" [syn: steering,
       guidance, direction]
    3: the act of steering a ship [syn: steering, steerage]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

83 Moby Thesaurus words for "steering":
   accounting, action, agency, aim, analysis, authority,
   automatic electronic navigation, azimuth, bearing, bent, braking,
   command, computation, conduct, control, coordination, course,
   current, direction, direction line, drift, driving, execution,
   exercise, fact distribution, forecasts, functioning, governance,
   government, guidance, handling, heading, helmsmanship, husbandry,
   inclination, inspection, lay, lead, leading, lie, line,
   line of direction, line of march, management, managery, managing,
   manipulation, navigation, nonlinear calibrations, occupation,
   operancy, operation, ordering, orientation, output measurement,
   performance, performing, pilotage, piloting, point, practice,
   processing, quarter, range, record keeping, regulation,
   responsibility, run, running, set, steerage,
   supersonic flow detection, tendency, tenor, the conn, the helm,
   the wheel, track, trend, way, work, working, workings