fire ship

American  

noun

1. a vessel loaded with combustibles and explosives, ignited, and set adrift to destroy an enemy's ships or constructions.

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fire ship British  

noun

1. a vessel loaded with explosives and used, esp formerly, as a bomb by igniting it and directing it to drift among an enemy's warships

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Etymology

Origin of fire ship

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

Somers died when the fire ship he commanded exploded in Tripoli Harbor.

From Washington Times • May 27, 2017

While our soldiers were holding their own, as usual, a Genoese fire ship exploded in the canal behind them.

From The Lion of Saint Mark A Story of Venice in the Fourteenth Century by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)

Giving his fire ship a mighty shove he sent it directly between the scows and then he made a great dive down and away.

From The Keepers of the Trail A Story of the Great Woods by Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)

When the fire ship was fully fitted out in this manner, they prepared to enter the passageway into the lake.

From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 5 by Sylvester, Charles Herbert

On the following night July 28th, the French tried to destroy the British fleet by a fire ship.

From A Canadian Manor and Its Seigneurs The Story of a Hundred Years, 1761-1861 by Wrong, George McKinnon