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definitions

three-decker

[three-dek-er]
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.

Origin of three-decker

First recorded in 1785–95
Also called triple-decker (for defs 3, 4).
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for three-decker

Historical Examples of three-decker

  • But so it is; the cockboat may be more to a man than was once the three-decker.

    Barrington

    Charles James Lever

  • Not a three-decker of the Channel fleet was readier for a broadside than herself.

    Barrington

    Charles James Lever

  • On seeing the approach of a three-decker, they again hauled their wind.

    Will Weatherhelm

    W.H.G. Kingston

  • Only, I'm afraid your three-decker's apprenticeship 'll stand in your way.'

  • A small craft you will style her; but at that time, in my eyes, she was as grand as a three-decker.

    The Boy Tar

    Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for three-decker

three-decker

noun
    1. anything having three levels or layers
    2. (as modifier)a three-decker sandwich
  2. 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