mother ship

noun

1. a vessel or craft that services others operating far from a home port or center.

mother ship

noun

1. a ship providing facilities and supplies for a number of small vessels

Word History and Origins

Origin of mother ship¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

“Workcation suggests that you’re not working,” he said, “but you can be sitting in Bali and working harder” than you did on the mother ship.

From Washington Post

Unlike traditional rockets that take off vertically from a launchpad, Virgin Galactic launches its spacecraft from a mother ship, which carries the spacecraft to an altitude of more than 40,000 feet.

From Washington Post

Like Virgin Galactic’s spaceship, the rocket is tethered to a mother ship, in this case a 747, that takes it to an altitude of some 40,000 feet.

From Washington Post

A star presenter at Fox News exits the mother ship amid controversy, lured away by a rival network.

From Washington Post

The boats can spend years at sea, periodically off-loading their catch to refrigerated mother ships and taking on fresh supplies.

From Outside Online

He who once sailed the deep in the SEAL mother ship now sits in a New York City jail cell.

From The Daily Beast

A few moments later the airplanes came winging back to their mother ship.

From Project Gutenberg

For this reason submarines always require to act in concert with what has been called a “mother ship.”

From Project Gutenberg

You are far from home without a mother-ship, or she would have found you and furnished oil before this.

From Project Gutenberg

Behind the battle line lay the Ark Royal, a mother ship for seaplanes.

From Project Gutenberg

Lors, watching the screen, saw the oblong shape of the mother ship blurp into view and called out its position to his friend.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bellwether
• crown jewel