capital ship
2
7.9
- noun
- /ˈkæpɪtl ʃɪp/
- Specialized
:
buque de guerra
- Sensor data arriving from Mon Remonda showed Solo's group closing slowly on a unit of six capital ships.
Examples
-
In the seven thousand years since the Fourth Imperium crawled back into space from the last surviving world of the Third, there had never been a mutiny aboard a capital ship of Battle Fleet.
Fiction book (1992) -
"I count four, five, six capital ships!" Han Solo abandoned his armature-mounted chair and moved to stand behind Golorno.
Fiction book (1999) -
I personally have always wanted to captain a capital ship.
Blog text (14) -
They'll lower the gate to let the capital ships out in a hurry.
-
They were designed to hurt capital ships; their pilots knew what they were doing.
Fiction book (1999) -
A tactical mode could allow capital ship crews to oversee fighters engaged in battle.
Blog text (14) -
There were never enough cruisers and destroyers to go around, and the overriding need for capital ships diverted yard space from building them in the necessary numbers.
Fiction book (1997) -
After the arrival of the carrier as the capital ship of naval warfare, for example, the venerable battleship did not disappear but instead acquired two important roles: shore bombardment platform and vast floating air defense battery.
Academic text (1996) -
The naval fleet deployed its most powerful capital ship into the conflict zone to assert dominance.
-
During World War II, the British capital ships played a crucial role in naval battles across the Atlantic.
Synonyms
171
6.3
A large warship with a flat deck for aircraft to take off and land
68
5.5
A large ship used in war with thick metal armor and big guns
59
3.8
A very large war ship with a long flat deck where military planes take off and land
5
7.2
A large warship with big guns made to be fast but with lighter armor than a battleship
1
9.2
A large warship with heavy armor and big guns
A big military ship with a long flat deck that carries and launches fighter planes
How Powerful
- Specialized
2
7.9
- Specialized
62
7.3
- Specialized
5
8.2
- Specialized
7
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a most important/leading ship' is directly derivable from combining 'capital' (having greatest importance) with 'ship' (a vessel). Although the technical sense (e.g. battleship or aircraft carrier) adds domain-specific detail, a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer that it means an especially important or major warship.
Etymology
Capital ship may come from thinking of the biggest, most important ship as the capital, or main city, of a fleet. That's why it means 'the most important warship'.