guard ship
1
7.9
- noun
- Specialized
:
buque de guardia
- There's probably a coast guard ship on its way right now.
- Coast Guard ship
Examples
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Guard ship.
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His system is the life buoy thrown from the Coast Guard ship to the people on the sinking vessel who don't know how to get out of their situation.
Blog text (4) -
Bonn and his team would help anyone injured, but most of the survivors would be picked up from their rafts by the Coast Guard ship Munro, which was 40 miles away.
Academic text (2011) -
As soon as they arrive on or even near the island, Italian coast guard ships approach most of the vessels, load the refugees up by the hundreds, ship them into port, and deliver them to shore, where they are numbered before being run through a waiting line of police, Red Cross, and other emergency workers, and boarded onto repurposed tourist buses.
Academic text (2012) -
As soon as his presidency began, in June 2008, Ma's Japan policy was put to a test by the Lianhehao Incident, in which a Taiwanese fishing boat sank near the disputed islands after being rammed by a Japanese Coast Guard ship.
Academic text (2014) -
The guard ship was deployed to monitor the area for any potential threats.
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During the naval exercise, the guard ship remained on high alert, ready to respond to emergencies.
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As tensions rose, the guard ships were positioned strategically to ensure a quick reaction if necessary.
Synonyms
4
3.7
A ship used by the navy or coast guard to watch and protect the sea
A ship that watches for enemy ships or planes and warns other ships
How Ready
- Specialized
1
7.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a ship assigned to guard or protect' is directly derivable from combining 'guard' (one who protects) with 'ship' (a vessel); the noun-used-attributively compound pattern is a regular, compositional English formation. Although the definition adds a technical nuance about readiness, the core idea of a vessel whose function is to guard is transparent to a B1 learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
Guard ship comes from the simple idea of a guard (someone who watches) and a ship that stayed near a harbor or sailed nearby to watch for danger and help quickly. So, the term came to mean a warship kept 'ready' to respond fast in an emergency.