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.
See Examples For:
The interest "reflects investors' overwhelmingly bullish sentiment toward China's flagship domestic memory chip firm", Larry Yang, chief economist of First Seafront Fund Management, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
The flagship ferry Manxman is currently in drydock undergoing "essential repairs"
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Google’s stock fell 2% on Friday after Bloomberg reported that the company had delayed the release of its newest powerful flagship model, Gemini 3.5 Pro.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The morning after the address, “Fox & Friends,” the network’s flagship three-hour morning show that typically serves as a rallying ground for administration priorities, pointedly neglected to even cover the speech.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
The panda bear has become the iconic flagship species for animal conservation in general.
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
Within hours, 43 new products seen on the runway were available to buy online and in Gucci’s main flagships across Europe and Japan, as well as in a significant number of U.S. stores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
From glamorous flagships like the Ace Hotel to locals-only dives like Hank’s, downtown has lost a lot of the places that made it such a compelling place to live and party.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2025
As many reports have pointed out, PBS and NPR, along with their news flagships, “PBS NewsHour” and “All Things Considered,” will not disappear.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2025
However, a new study argues that individual animals or plants can also be used as flagships, with enormous potential to raise awareness and mobilise public support.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2023
He chose Don Juan's "Reale" for his adversary, relying on the Seraskier Pertev Pasha, and the Pasha of Mitylene on his left and right, to support him by attacking the other two flagships.
From Famous Sea Fights From Salamis to Tsu-Shima by Hale, John Richard
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.
