warship
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of warship
Explanation
A warship is a military sea vessel that's usually armed with weapons. A country's navy uses warships in battles or to transport troops. A battleship is one specific kind of warship, a very large one that's outfitted with weapons and heavily defended against attack. All warships are prepared for war (which is where they get their name), and most of them are controlled by the naval forces of a nation. Many countries move their warships into particular regions to exert political force on adversaries, or send them to protect civilian or cargo ships from pirate attacks.
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.
Germany on Wednesday pulled the plug on its largest naval order in decades after the anti-submarine warship project suffered delays, a setback for the country's ambitions to overhaul its military.
From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026
The defense giant tumbled close to 12% on a report that the German government is pulling funding for a new warship.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026
Those on the warship were held captive for months, with the incident later dramatised in the 1957 film Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S Amethyst.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
And on the USS Gerald R. Ford, a $13 billion warship that limped off the line for a week of repairs after its laundry room caught fire.
From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026
The warship descended through the clouds, but Annabeth couldn’t stop second-guessing herself.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
