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first four ships

British  

plural noun

  1. the earliest settlers' ships to arrive in the Canterbury Province

  2. to be a founder member of Canterbury

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The first four ships left Ukraine last week under the agreement.

From Reuters

The Navy estimates that retiring the first four ships in the program, which would otherwise need significant and expensive upgrades to be deployable, would save $1.2 billion.

From Salon

The first four ships will be used for testing developing technologies and systems being installed on the littoral combat ships.

From Washington Times

Soon after the first four ships of the lee division had cut through between the centre and rear of the enemy’s line.

From Project Gutenberg

As their van ship drew up with the point already mentioned, the wind headed her, so that she could only reach the third in the English order, the first four ships of which, using their springs, concentrated their guns upon her.

From Project Gutenberg