gunboat

[ guhn-boht ]

/ ˈgʌnˌboʊt /

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See synonyms for gunboat on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small, armed warship of light draft, used in ports where the water is shallow.

any small ship carrying mounted guns.

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Origin of gunboat

First recorded in 1770–80; gun¹ + boat

Words nearby gunboat

gum up, gumweed, gumwood, gun, guna, gunboat, gunboat diplomacy, gun brig, gun camera, gun carriage, gun control

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gunboat in a sentence

The rebels wished to advance from Lutao, but were kept back by the fire from the gunboat Maria Cristina.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Meanwhile, the Australian submarine has got up through the Narrows and has torpedoed a gunboat at Chunuk.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Subsequently a gunboat was sent to San Fernando de la Union to shell the town.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
On that date the American gunboat Petrel and a large steam-launch suddenly appeared in Cebú harbour.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

In January, 1899, a Spanish gunboat silently entered the port without the customary whistling and firing of salute.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

British Dictionary definitions for gunboat

gunboat

/ (ˈɡʌnˌbəʊt) /

noun

a small shallow-draft vessel carrying mounted guns and used by coastal patrols, etc

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

gunboat

Origin of gunboat

Words nearby gunboat

Words related to gunboat

How to use gunboat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gunboat