torpedo boat
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of torpedo boat
An Americanism dating back to 1800–10
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.
U-557 was rammed in error by the Italian torpedo boat Orione, west of Crete, and was sunk with all hands.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
Navy planes to bomb North Vietnamese torpedo boat bases and called on Congress to authorize the use of force.
From Salon • Sep. 7, 2025
George Chandler, 99, served aboard a British motor torpedo boat as part of a flotilla that escorted the U.S.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2024
It said the vague outline could be made out on the radar scans as well as a second object, possibly a German torpedo boat, longer but more narrow.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2023
After a brief mention of the building, he turned to the action in Vietnam, emphasizing that the air strikes had been made necessary by the North Vietnamese torpedo boat attacks.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
