submarine
[noun suhb-muh-reen, suhb-muh-reen; adjective, verb suhb-muh-reen]
- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- to attack or sink by submarine.
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Origin of submarine
Regional variation note
3. See hero sandwich.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for submarine
Contemporary Examples
The tactical balance between the surface warship and the submarine has strategic impact.
Other improvements are making the submarine more elusive and lethal.
LISI garbage: later discovered to be a submarine sandwich bag.
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 RolesMarlow Stern
June 20, 2013
In March 2010 a North Korean submarine, without cause, torpedoed the Cheonan, a South Korean frigate.
Historical Examples
He also investigated there the laws of electric signals in submarine cables.
Heroes of the TelegraphJ. Munro
In the heroic years of his youth he had volunteered for the submarine service.
City of Endless NightMilo Hastings
You will both have opportunities to see much of the officers of the Submarine Service.
City of Endless NightMilo Hastings
It was the second submarine I saw on the night she foundered.
The Cruise of the Dry DockT. S. Stribling
On the twenty-eighth of the month this submarine sank the liner Ethiope.
submarine
- 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
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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
n.
"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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper