torpedo boat

noun

1. a small, fast, highly maneuverable boat used for torpedoing enemy shipping.

torpedo boat

noun

1. (formerly) a small high-speed warship designed to carry out torpedo attacks in coastal waters

Word History and Origins

Origin of torpedo boat¹

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10

Example Sentences

U-557 was rammed in error by the Italian torpedo boat Orione, west of Crete, and was sunk with all hands.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Navy planes to bomb North Vietnamese torpedo boat bases and called on Congress to authorize the use of force.

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Iran could also launch 'swarm attacks' on US Navy warships using drones and fast torpedo boats, something that the Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy has practiced exhaustively over the years.

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George Chandler, 99, served aboard a British motor torpedo boat as part of a flotilla that escorted the U.S.

Read more on Seattle Times

He crossed the same waters to save himself and 10 members of his crew after a Japanese destroyer split their torpedo boat, PT-109, in the predawn darkness of Aug. 2, 1943.

Read more on New York Times