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.
See Examples For:
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
“I feel bad that they took that kind of chance, probably for nothing,” said Januik, as a highly poisonous Portuguese man-of-war swam past his dock.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 9, 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
The men-of-war retain their sting when they are wet, even if they look dead, he warned.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2017
Beachgoers have been warned to stay away from potentially fatal Portuguese men-of-war washed up on English and Welsh beaches.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2017
Strange creatures called Portuguese men-of-war have washed up on beaches in Cornwall, according to the council.
From Children's BBC ● Sep. 7, 2012
On other U. S. men-of-war, bluejackets experienced successive waves of wonder, envy, anger, relief.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Active and the Kingfisher, British men-of-war, stood by ready to blast them out of the water if they obeyed the Town and returned to London with the tea.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
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.
