Spithead

American

[spit-hed] / ˈspɪtˈhɛd /

noun

a roadstead off the S coast of England between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

Spithead British

/ ˌspɪtˈhɛd /

noun

an extensive anchorage between the mainland of England and the Isle of Wight, off Portsmouth

"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

Example Sentences

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Lord West of Spithead, who served as First Sea Lord, has also raised concerns about the Cobham-Ultra deal and a similar one involving British defence supplier Meggitt.

From BBC • Aug. 16, 2021

It's a question that troubles the former First Sea Lord, Lord West of Spithead, who has spent months trying to find out if the UK has a back-up plan.

From BBC • Jul. 27, 2021

Former head of the navy and Labour peer Lord West of Spithead would also like to see it make a comeback.

From BBC • Sep. 26, 2016

At the Spithead naval review of 1897, a trim ship some 100 feet long with Turbinia on her taffrail was observed by irate officials to be cutting deliberately across the bows of the royal yacht.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hocquart became his prisoner for the third time, and Boscawen returned to Spithead with his prizes and 1500 prisoners.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 "Borgia, Lucrezia" to "Bradford, John" by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023