torpedo-boat destroyer

American  

[tawr-pee-doh-boht] / tɔrˈpi doʊˌboʊt /

noun

1. a vessel somewhat larger than the ordinary torpedo boat, designed for destroying torpedo boats or as a more powerful form of torpedo boat.

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torpedo-boat destroyer British  

noun

1. (formerly) a large powerful high-speed torpedo boat designed to destroy enemy torpedo boats: a forerunner of the modern destroyer, from which the name is derived

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Etymology

Origin of torpedo-boat destroyer

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

torpedo-boat destroyer

The most durable type of vessel to emerge in direct response to torpedo development was the torpedo-boat destroyer, better known as simply the destroyer, which began to appear in the early 1890s.

From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2014

A battleship should be at least twice as long as a torpedo-boat destroyer.

From Boys' Book of Model Boats by Yates, Raymond F. (Raymond Francis)

Following the Oquendo at a distance of about 1,200 yards came the torpedo-boat destroyer Pluton, and after her the Furor.

From Our War with Spain for Cuba's Freedom by White, Trumbull

A DULL, reverberating crash roused Flight-sub-lieutenant Barcroft from his temporary bunk on board H.M. torpedo-boat destroyer "Audax."

From Billy Barcroft, R.N.A.S. A story of the Great War by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

And, in Henry VIII's fleet of 1545, the 'row-barge' was the principal 'mosquito' craft, like the modern torpedo-boat, destroyer, or even submarine.

From Elizabethan Sea Dogs by Wood, William Charles Henry