battle cruiser

noun

: a large heavily armed warship that is lighter, faster, and more maneuverable than a battleship

Examples of battle cruiser in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
In the six-part The Belgrano Diary, O'Hagan explores whether the Thatcher government lied about the sinking of the Argentinian battle cruiser General Belgrano during the Falklands War in 1982. The Week Uk, theweek, 6 June 2024 When the invasion began, the Russian Black Sea Fleet was far mightier than its Ukrainian equivalent, consisting of the battle cruiser Moskva, five frigates, six modern submarines, 13 tank landing ships, and many smaller vessels suitable for coastal defense. Mark Cancian, Foreign Affairs, 8 Feb. 2024 After finishing at Osborne, the Navy’s training school on the Isle of Wight, Dickie spent the summer of 1913 was spent in Hesse with his older siblings—Alice, now married to Prince Andrew of Greece, Louise and George, now a lieutenant serving in the battle cruiser HMS New Zealand. Andrew Lownie, Town & Country, 7 Sep. 2021 Ghost is an interstellar battle cruiser of the imagination. Mark Ewing, Forbes, 3 July 2022 Such information helped Ukraine sink the battle cruiser Moskva. Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Frank Bajak, Anchorage Daily News, 3 June 2022 Ramsey's battle cruiser looks far too nice to send to automotive Valhalla, but the showmanship can't be denied. Tony Quiroga, Car and Driver, 30 July 2021 On the battle cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, the crew descended its side boats to take plunges into the icy seawater. Elliot Ackerman, Wired, 2 Mar. 2021 But with the arrival of dreadnoughts and battle cruisers at the beginning of the 20th century, the range and lethality of ships’ guns both rose dramatically. Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, 24 May 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1901, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of battle cruiser was in 1901

Dictionary Entries Near battle cruiser

Cite this Entry

“Battle cruiser.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/battle%20cruiser. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on battle cruiser

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!