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definitions

minesweeper

[mahyn-swee-per]
noun Navy.
  1. a specially equipped ship used for dragging a body of water in order to remove or destroy enemy mines.

Origin of minesweeper

First recorded in 1900–05; mine2 + sweeper
Related formsmine·sweep·ing, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for minesweeper

Historical Examples of minesweeper

  • Minesweeper Lingfield to take off surplus steaming parties of block ships, which had 100 miles to steam.

  • It may be apropos to say here that the smaller class of minesweeper is usually blown to pieces if she touches a mine.

    Submarine Warfare of To-day

    Charles W. Domville-Fife

  • A few seconds later another bomb fell close to a minesweeper and a fragment gashed the decks but did not penetrate them.

    Submarine Warfare of To-day

    Charles W. Domville-Fife

British Dictionary definitions for minesweeper

minesweeper

noun
  1. a naval vessel equipped to detect and clear mines
Derived Formsminesweeping, noun
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