submarine
Americannoun
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submarines
plural
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a vessel that can be submerged and navigated under water, usually built for warfare and armed with torpedoes or guided missiles.
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something situated or living under the surface of the sea, as a plant or animal.
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Chiefly Northeastern and North Midland U.S. a hero sandwich.
adjective
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situated, occurring, operating, or living under the surface of the sea.
a submarine mountain.
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of, relating to, or carried on by a submarine or submarines.
submarine warfare.
verb (used without object)
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to participate in the operating of a submarine.
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to move or slide under something.
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Slang.
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to be thrown under the steering wheel of the vehicle one is driving during a frontal crash.
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to be thrown out of one's seat belt in such a crash.
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verb (used with object)
noun
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Often shortened to: sub. a vessel, esp one designed for warfare, capable of operating for protracted periods below the surface of the sea
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(modifier)
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of or relating to a submarine
a submarine captain
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occurring or situated below the surface of the sea
a submarine cable
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Regional Use
See hero sandwich.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of submarine
1640–50; 1895–1900 submarine for def. 1; sub- + marine
Explanation
If you're in the Navy, a submarine is a military ship that goes under the water. If you're hungry, it's a type of sandwich. This word mainly refers to a vessel that travels underwater and is armed with torpedoes — also known as a U-boat. But you can submarine someone by attacking them with a submarine or bringing them down with a blow to the legs. A disappointment can submarine — or sink — your hopes and dreams. In the kitchen, a submarine is what you call a long, crusty sandwich filled with meats and cheese — also known as a sub, grinder, hero, or hoagie.
Vocabulary lists containing submarine
Power Prefix: sub-
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World War I
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"Hitching a Ride"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In June this year, something even more unexpected popped up at one of the two Changxing yards: a new class of submarine, likely nuclear-powered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Australia is boosting its undersea warfare capability by equipping its Ghost Shark autonomous submarine with "swarms" of aerial drones and sea mines, its defence ministry said Monday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
Vizag is a landing point for submarine internet cables linking the country to Singapore, so for India, the location of the 600-acre site -- more than 340 football pitches -- is ideal.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
But U.S. submarine production is limited by a brittle supply chain, scarce skilled labor, and other dysfunctions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
This left me with about as much legroom as a one-man submarine, but I didn’t mind.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
China has built the world’s largest navy with a battle force of over 400 ships and submarines, which is about 35% larger than the U.S. fleet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
On the defence budget, the government wants to see an increase of around eight percent from this year to 73.3 trillion won, aiming to secure nuclear-powered submarines and KF-21 fighter jets.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
And last year, Seoul announced an agreement with Washington to build nuclear-powered submarines, with Pyongyang slamming the submarine programme as a "dangerous attempt at confrontation".
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
The Commons Defence Committee said a shortage of Royal Navy warships and submarines was leaving the country's critical infrastructure in the High North, including undersea cables and energy supplies, exposed.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
From then on, Germany’s efforts to win a decisive victory at sea were conducted entirely with submarines.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
The historical odds will be against the Nets, who have been submarined by Durant’s January knee sprain, Harden’s February departure and Irving’s part-time availability because of his unvaccinated status.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 28, 2022
Theoretically, those Sunday figures could be submarined by a handful of meaningless rounds where Finau was never in the tournament mix.
From Golf Digest ● Feb. 3, 2020
Twice in the last six weeks, Johnson has submarined the Lakers by being out front without being up front.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2019
You can imagine my disappointment when the performance was submarined by a microphone mishap, one that introduced unexpected, tinny plonks to the mix and seemingly pushed the British star out of tune.
From The Verge ● Feb. 16, 2016
The Marchioness of Strathdene and her airy husband reached England without being submarined, and there, to her great surprise, Kedzie found a whole new universe of things not quite right.
From We Can't Have Everything by Rupert Hughes
The Cyclones shot 32% in the second half, submarining their own cause further by turning the ball over 18 times.
From Fox News ● Mar. 26, 2022
Quisenberry, a submarining closer with a world-class wit, won five Rolaids Relief Man awards for the Royals in the 1980s.
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2022
Chicago had the bases loaded with one out when submarining right-hander Tyler Rogers caught Willson Contreras looking at an 84 mph fastball on a 3-2 count.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 12, 2021
Wall’s health problems sabotaged the 2017-18 season, they are submarining the ongoing 2018-19 season, and now they threaten the 2019-20 campaign 10 months before it will officially begin.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 5, 2019
But instead I am this sphere of darkness submarining through the halls.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
