torpedo boat

noun

: a boat designed for launching torpedoes

specifically : a small very fast boat with one or more torpedo tubes

Examples of torpedo boat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1967: Israeli fighter jets and torpedo boats attacked allies on the USS Liberty, a U.S. Navy research ship collecting intelligence near the Sinai Peninsula, amid the Six-Day War between Israel and neighboring Arab nations Egypt, Syria and Jordan. —The Arizona Republic, 7 June 2024

In the late nineteenth century, for instance, France’s navy sought to counter British naval supremacy by investing heavily in submarines and torpedo boats. —Julia Ciocca, Foreign Affairs, 6 Apr. 2021

Towed behind a torpedo boat, the Shirley would sooner or later rise and fumble skyward, staying aloft exactly as long as its pilot's stamina held out and his sprocket chain stayed intact. —Jamie Kitman, Car and Driver, 5 Nov. 2013

Destroyers were invented in the 1880s, when they were called torpedo boat destroyers. —Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 2 Sep. 2022

The crew had commenced destroying classified materials and equipment, but the sailors could hold off the five torpedo boats and two aircraft only for so long. —Abraham Mahshie, Washington Examiner, 20 Feb. 2020

That’s not news: for decades the PLAN has had hundreds of ships, torpedo boats, missile boats, frigates, and destroyers, all obsolete and lacking the latest technology. —Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 18 Dec. 2019

Its fleet ranges from torpedo boats to fast-moving patrol vessels and Zodiacs. —Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 14 June 2019

There were a lot of ex-colonials like Allen in the Service, infuriatingly dense regarding aspects of intelligence work that did not involve torpedo boats or sword canes. —Andrew Liptak, The Verge, 17 June 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for torpedo boat

• afloat
• azote
• banknote
• bareboat
• benzoate
• connote
• cutthroat
• demote
• denote
• devote
• endnote
• footnote

Kids Definition

torpedo boat

noun

: a small very fast boat for firing torpedoes