warship
Americannoun
-
warships
plural
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.
See Examples For:
It turns out the seaman had been running laps on a warship in the Charles de Gaulle’s carrier group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Iran may see value even in the risks that would accompany a successful strike on a U.S. warship, said Alice Gower, partner at Azure Strategy, a political-risk advisory firm in London.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Navy warship two times in the last two days with ballistic missiles.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Over the next three months, the £3.2bn warship and her crew of more than 800 sailors will take part in an intensive programme of training, the Royal Navy said.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Elizebeth also had to search for signs of hostile actions—anything from a foreign warship laying mines to submarines behaving strangely off the American coastline.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
The lengthy deployment took a toll on US military personnel on the Lincoln and accompanying warships.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
But the lengthy deployment took a toll on US military personnel on the Lincoln and accompanying warships.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Russia said it would "thoroughly investigate" the incident but accused Danish helicopters of making "dangerous manoeuvres" near Russian warships.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
The finding deepens U.S.-China tensions ahead of the Trump-Xi summit as officials examine possible Chinese help tracking American warships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Like a fleet of living, breathing warships, hundreds of whales had united to form a super pod.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
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