man-of-war
Americannoun
-
a warship
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of man-of-war
1400–50 in sense “soldier”; late Middle English
Vocabulary lists containing man-of-war
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.
This keeps them close to their prey, including the famously venomous Portuguese man-of-war.
From National Geographic • Feb. 7, 2024
By-the-wind-sailors are related to jellyfish and the Portuguese man-of-war, which can produce a painful sting, but their tentacles are mostly harmless, Pernet said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2023
Q: Years ago, my 3-year-old tripped and fell on a Portuguese man-of-war while we were at the beach.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 10, 2022
A news story of the day claimed that on the way to Nassau, Bonnet was involved in a fight with a Spanish man-of-war and his ship was damaged and Bonnet seriously wounded.
From Salon • May 21, 2022
But the sly dog dived, came up under the man-of-war, scuttled her, and down she went, with all sail set, ‘To the bottom of the sea, sea, sea’ where...”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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.
