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U-boats

Cultural  
  1. German submarines during World War I and World War II. U-boat is a translation of the German U-boot, which is short for Unterseeboot, or “undersea boat.”


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Lusitania was sunk by a U-boat. Eventually, U-boat attacks on neutral ships drew the United States into the war.

Example Sentences

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Known within their own ranks as “U-boats,” they survived under seemingly impossible conditions thanks to the ingenuity and courage of Maltzan and others like her.

From The Wall Street Journal

U-boats, Mr. Moorhouse tells us, were also plagued by malfunctioning torpedoes, mechanical failures and, eventually, the incessant—and often successful—depth-charge attacks of Allied warships.

From The Wall Street Journal

As America entered World War II, New York City was threatened by prowling U-boats off the coast and Nazi spies lodged in Manhattan hotels.

From The Wall Street Journal

Once the Navy had cleared the coast of U-boats, writes Mr. Wallace, New York became “the most spectacular war port in the world.”

From The Wall Street Journal

It was on 14 May 1945 that the first of the German U-boats made their way up the Foyle to the port of Lisahally where they were formally ordered to surrender.

From BBC