fire ship

American  

noun

1. a vessel loaded with combustibles and explosives, ignited, and set adrift to destroy an enemy's ships or constructions.

---

fire ship British  

noun

1. a vessel loaded with explosives and used, esp formerly, as a bomb by igniting it and directing it to drift among an enemy's warships

---

Etymology

Origin of fire ship

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

Somers died when the fire ship he commanded exploded in Tripoli Harbor.

From Washington Times • May 27, 2017

Their scowling faces are lit with fire, like sailors manning their guns in a night fight when a blazing fire ship is bearing down upon them.

From The Iron Puddler My life in the rolling mills and what came of it by Davis, James J. (James John)

Night had fallen, and the Aquila blazed like a fire ship.

From The Rim of the Desert by Anderson, Ada Woodruff

When the fire ship was fully fitted out in this manner, they prepared to enter the passageway into the lake.

From Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 5 by Sylvester, Charles Herbert

On the 16th of October, 1746, he was made lieutenant of a frigate, and at the time of his offer was still only captain of a fire ship.

From Celebrated Travels and Travellers Part 2. The Great Navigators of the Eighteenth Century by Benett, Léon