lightship

[lahyt-ship]

noun

a ship anchored in a specific location and displaying or flashing a very bright light for the guidance of ships, as in avoiding dangerous areas. Abbreviation: LS

Origin of lightship

First recorded in 1830–40; light¹ + ship¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lightship

Historical Examples of lightship

They managed to reach the lightship in their lifeboats just as their vessel sank.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
"Posy here'd be a good hand aboard a lightship," he observed.
Galusha the Magnificent
Joseph C. Lincoln
She thanks him for the lightship as if it were a bunch of roses.
Ship-Bored
Julian Street
There were upwards of thirty artificers on board the lightship at this time.
The Lighthouse
R.M. Ballantyne
When the latter reached the lightship, the ocean liner was not yet in sight.
The Flying Reporter
Lewis E. (Lewis Edwin) Theiss

British Dictionary definitions for lightship

lightship

noun

a ship equipped as a lighthouse and moored where a fixed structure would prove impracticable

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