flagship
Americannoun
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a ship carrying the flag officer or the commander of a fleet, squadron, or the like, and displaying the officer's flag.
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the main vessel of a shipping company.
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any of the best or largest ships or airplanes operated by a passenger line.
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the best or most important one of a group or system.
This store is the flagship of our retail chain.
adjective
noun
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a ship, esp in a fleet, aboard which the commander of the fleet is quartered
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the most important ship belonging to a shipping company
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a single item from a related group considered as the most important, often in establishing a public image
the nine o'clock news is the flagship of the BBC
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of flagship
Explanation
Traditionally, the commander of a navy traveled in the flagship, which was distinguished by flying his distinctive flag. You can also call the ship in the front of a fleet the flagship. The flagship is generally the most powerful in some way — better armed, or larger, than the ships that follow it. Ultimately, the most important thing about a flagship is that it's first. Based on this meaning, another kind of flagship is something that's the first, best, or biggest example of something — a product, store, or program, for example. Starbucks' enormous flagship coffee shop, the company's largest and fanciest shop, is in Seattle, Washington.
Vocabulary lists containing flagship
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 research was featured as the cover story in Significance, the flagship magazine of the Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association.
From Science Daily • Jul. 9, 2026
There is much less talk these days of Labour's flagship 2024 election policy, the creation of a publicly-owned green energy company called GB Energy based in Aberdeen.
From BBC • Jul. 8, 2026
Upgrade your scent game this summer with a visit to Maison Louis Marie’s new flagship store in Silver Lake.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026
The GPT-5.6 series has three tiers: Sol, the company's new flagship model; Terra, a mid-range version for everyday work; and Luna, a fast, low-cost option.
From Barron's • Jul. 8, 2026
Fighting and maneuvering continued for days, with Admiral Graves giving orders by signal flags that sailors raised aloft on his flagship.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
