pocket battleship

American  

noun

1. a small heavily armed and armored warship serving as a battleship because of limitations imposed by treaty.

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pocket battleship British  

noun

1. a small heavily armoured and armed battle cruiser specially built to conform with treaty limitations on tonnage and armament, esp any of those built by Germany in the 1930s

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Etymology

Origin of pocket battleship

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pocket battleship

Hughes, "a pocket battleship" according to CMJ on TMS, is on the defensive against Tremlett as the Barmy Army tries to rouse England with a rendition of "Swann Will Tear You Apart".

From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2010

With her were the 10,000-ton pocket battleship Admiral Scheer, the 10,000-ton heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen.

From Time Magazine Archive

There, big as life, shining in the full June moon, lay the sleek, clean form of a German pocket battleship.

From Time Magazine Archive

The scuttling of the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spec off Montevideo in December 1939, enforced by inferior British vessels, was one of Britain's proudest episodes in the war.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Didn't we blow up a pocket battleship?" he argued sourly.

From A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F. by Montgomery, Rutherford George