battle cruiser

noun

a warship of maximum speed and firepower, but with lighter armor than a battleship.

Words nearby battle cruiser

batting eye, batting order, battle, battle clasp, battle creek, battle cruiser, battle cry, battle dress, battle fatigue, battle group, battle jacket

Origin of battle cruiser

First recorded in 1910–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for battle cruiser

It remains to consider the function of the battle-cruiser in the line of battle.
Naval Warfare|James R. Thursfield
The battle-cruiser is a hybrid and, as this war has proved, a most useful war-vessel.
The British Navy Book|Cyril Field
Slowly the battle-cruiser threaded her way through the deep water marked but by buoys into the inner harbour.
Down Under With the Prince|Everard Cotes
To take aim from such an altitude is impossible, especially at a rapidly moving target such as a battle-cruiser.
Aeroplanes and Dirigibles of War|Frederick A. Talbot

The silk, somehow, seemed strangely out of place in the gun-turret of a battle-cruiser.
Pincher Martin, O.D.|H. Taprell Dorling

British Dictionary definitions for battle cruiser

battle cruiser

noun

a warship of battleship size but with lighter armour and fewer guns and capable of high speed

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012