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three-decker

American  
[three-dek-er] / ˈθriˈdɛk ər /

noun

  1. any ship having three decks, tiers, etc.

  2. (formerly) one of a class of sailing warships that carried guns on three decks.

  3. a sandwich made of three slices of bread interlaid with two layers of filling; club sandwich.

  4. something having three layers, levels, or tiers.


three-decker British  

noun

    1. anything having three levels or layers

    2. ( as modifier )

      a three-decker sandwich

  1. a warship with guns on three decks

"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

Etymology

Origin of three-decker

First recorded in 1785–95

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.

GAYNOR: We had a wonderful party on a three-decker cruise ship.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 12, 2024

“A Hero” is as anxious and swift as a thriller, with the density and observational acuity of a 19th-century three-decker.

From New York Times • Jan. 5, 2022

Helena Wright’s first apartment was in Andover, Mass., on the second floor of what New Englanders call a three-decker.

From Washington Post • Aug. 29, 2018

Yet the family was somehow able to buy one of Worcester’s three-decker buildings, which must have felt like a miraculous accomplishment for folks who arrived with nothing a few years earlier.

From New York Times • Apr. 27, 2016

He drops us off at the Grey Island Inn, a long rectangular three-decker with a view of the ship docks and the Jersey shoreline.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee