landing craft

American

noun

Navy.

any of various flat-bottomed vessels designed to move troops and equipment close to shore.

landing craft British

noun

military any small vessel designed for the landing of troops and equipment on beaches

"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

Etymology

Origin of landing craft

First recorded in 1935–40

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:

landing craft

US helicopters have been ferrying in aid and US Marines have used a landing craft to deliver supplies from the USS Fort Lauderdale, an amphibious transport dock ship docked at La Guaira.

From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026

Targets: They are designed to protect shorelines and islands from approaching ships and landing craft.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

British Steel was used to make landing craft that carried troops to storm the beaches of northern France on D-Day, paving the way for the end of World War Two.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2025

The naval island is where the Navy developed the Higgins boat — the pivotal landing craft that ferried troops to the beaches of Normandy during the D-day invasion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2024

I hadn’t known he was in the landing craft with me, but it must have been his hand on my shoulder, urging me forward as we hit the beach.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023