battleship

American  

[bat-l-ship] / ˈbæt lˌʃɪp /

noun

• battleships
  plural

1. any of a class of warships that are the most heavily armored and are equipped with the most powerful armament.

2. ship of the line.

---

battleship British  

/ ˈbætəlˌʃɪp /

noun

1. a heavily armoured warship of the largest type having many large-calibre guns

2. (formerly) a warship of sufficient size and armament to take her place in the line of battle; ship of the line

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• battleships
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of battleship

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95; battle ¹ + ship ¹

---

Compare meaning

How does battleship compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• dreadnought vs. battleship

---

Explanation

A battleship is a very large, seagoing military vessel. A battleship is prepared for war, being protected by heavy armor and equipped with guns. Today's modern military doesn't often use battleships — you're more likely to find a battleship in a harbor being explored by tourists. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, battleships were the most modern, powerful kind of boat on the water, and they were used during both World Wars by various countries' navies. The game Battleship, which shares a name with these warships, has been around in one form or another since the 1930s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

battleship battleships

"I call Walmart the battleship, and I call Aldi a kind of submarine."

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

The battleship was supplanted as king of the seas in the 1940s by the aircraft carrier.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

The study determined that a 40,000-ton battleship wasn’t necessary in the fleet, Clark said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

Navy decommissioned its last battleship in 1992, after the military recognized that battleships had become sitting ducks, vulnerable to modern military munitions that could pick off the vessel from the sky.

From Salon ● May 8, 2026

It was like hitting the steel plate of a battleship.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath

However, Woodburn said there was still a role for the traditional battleships and submarines that BAE has been manufacturing for decades.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

FDR’s “arsenal of democracy” produced External link 10 battleships, 27 carriers, 211 submarines, and 310,000 aircraft to help win the war and establish Pax Americana.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

Navy decommissioned its last battleship in 1992, after the military recognized that battleships had become sitting ducks, vulnerable to modern military munitions that could pick off the vessel from the sky.

From Salon ● May 8, 2026

In the first decade of the 20th century, two brilliant English civilians, Arthur Pollen and Harold Isherwood, invented the world’s first modern gunnery computer to aim the big guns of battleships.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

Hitler’s aggressive actions made war seemed almost inevitable, and battleships and submarines started patrolling the oceans and coastlines.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---