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

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

She's in a hurry, too, crowding on all steam, and eating up the distance like a torpedo-boat destroyer.

From A Rock in the Baltic by Barr, Robert

She picked up the miniature torpedo-boat destroyer and a shower of bonbons fell to the floor.

From Madge Morton's Secret by Chalmers, Amy D. V.

She is worse than a torpedo-boat destroyer, and that is very bad indeed.

From Through East Anglia in a Motor Car by Vincent, J. E. (James Edmund)

The expedition was convoyed by the cruiser Marblehead, the torpedo-boat destroyer Eagle and other warships.

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