fire ship

American  

noun

1. a vessel loaded with combustibles and explosives, ignited, and set adrift to destroy an enemy's ships or constructions.

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fire ship British  

noun

1. a vessel loaded with explosives and used, esp formerly, as a bomb by igniting it and directing it to drift among an enemy's warships

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Etymology

Origin of fire ship

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fire ship

Somers died when the fire ship he commanded exploded in Tripoli Harbor.

From Washington Times ● May 27, 2017

Giving his fire ship a mighty shove he sent it directly between the scows and then he made a great dive down and away.

From The Keepers of the Trail A Story of the Great Woods by Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)

Their scowling faces are lit with fire, like sailors manning their guns in a night fight when a blazing fire ship is bearing down upon them.

From The Iron Puddler My life in the rolling mills and what came of it by Davis, James J. (James John)

Night had fallen, and the Aquila blazed like a fire ship.

From The Rim of the Desert by Anderson, Ada Woodruff

I will take that vessel which we captured in the River of Gibraltar and make of her a fire ship.

From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 5 by Sylvester, Charles Herbert