submarine

[noun suhb-muh-reen, suhb-muh-reen; adjective, verb suhb-muh-reen]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR submarine ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a vessel that can be submerged and navigated under water, usually built for warfare and armed with torpedoes or guided missiles.

something situated or living under the surface of the sea, as a plant or animal.

Chiefly Northeastern and North Midland U.S. a hero sandwich.

adjective

situated, occurring, operating, or living under the surface of the sea: a submarine mountain.

of, relating to, or carried on by a submarine or submarines: submarine warfare.

verb (used without object), sub·ma·rined, sub·ma·rin·ing.

to participate in the operating of a submarine.

to move or slide under something.

Slang.

to be thrown under the steering wheel of the vehicle one is driving during a frontal crash.
to be thrown out of one's seat belt in such a crash.

verb (used with object), sub·ma·rined, sub·ma·rin·ing.

to attack or sink by submarine.

Origin of submarine

1640–50; 1895–1900 for def 1; sub- + marine

Related formsan·ti·sub·ma·rine, adjective

Regional variation note

3. See hero sandwich.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for submarine

submersible, sub, torpedo, U-boat, hero, hoagie, grinder

Examples from the Web for submarine

Contemporary Examples of submarine

The tactical balance between the surface warship and the submarine has strategic impact.
Tomorrow’s Stealthy Subs Could Sink America’s Navy
Bill Sweetman
May 12, 2014
Other improvements are making the submarine more elusive and lethal.
Tomorrow’s Stealthy Subs Could Sink America’s Navy
Bill Sweetman
May 12, 2014
LISI garbage: later discovered to be a submarine sandwich bag.
Rob Ford’s Web of Criminal Friends
Michael Daly
November 22, 2013
Gandolfini reteamed with the late filmmaker Tony Scott for the 1995 submarine drama Crimson Tide.
From ‘The Sopranos’ to ‘Not Fade Away,’ the Late James Gandolfini’s Finest Roles
Marlow Stern
June 20, 2013
In March 2010 a North Korean submarine, without cause, torpedoed the Cheonan, a South Korean frigate.
North Korea Threatens War, and South Korea Wants Revenge
Gordon G. Chang
April 11, 2013

Historical Examples of submarine

He also investigated there the laws of electric signals in submarine cables.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro
In the heroic years of his youth he had volunteered for the submarine service.
City of Endless Night
Milo Hastings
You will both have opportunities to see much of the officers of the Submarine Service.
City of Endless Night
Milo Hastings
It was the second submarine I saw on the night she foundered.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
On the twenty-eighth of the month this submarine sank the liner Ethiope.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for submarine

submarine

noun

a vessel, esp one designed for warfare, capable of operating for protracted periods below the surface of the seaOften shortened to: sub

(modifier)

of or relating to a submarinea submarine captain
occurring or situated below the surface of the seaa submarine cable

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

Word Origin and History for submarine

adj.

1640s, from sub- + marine (adj.).

"submarine boat," 1899, from submarine (adj.). The short form sub is first recorded 1917. Submarine sandwich (1955) so called from the shape of the roll.