gunboat
7
6.6
- noun
- /ˈɡʌnˌboʊt/
- Specialized
:
cañonera
- When he was dethroned by the British in 1941 and taken away on a British gunboat into exile, few people in Iran regretted his fall.
- gunboat diplomacy
They sent some gunboats out and they actually captured our ship, the USS Pueblo, and brought it into their waters into port.
- They sent some gunboats out and they actually captured our ship, the USS Pueblo, and brought it into their waters into port.
Examples
-
The British sail a gunboat, the Helga, up the River Liffey, and begin shelling O'Connell Street and the GPO.
-
The era of the good neighbor policy was over, and the ugly specter of gunboat diplomacy had returned.
Academic text (1998) -
And a Union gunboat found him.
-
British gunboat last reported off Singkla.
-
No, we just send gunboats over and force them to open up to the world.
Blog text (3) -
When I was your age, I was first mate on a gunboat in the Persian Gulf.
-
What plans have you for the gunboats in the harbor south of here?
-
The federal gunboats that sometimes came up into the rivers had no reason to go that far inland.
Academic text (2003) -
I stared at it, thinking a gunboat had come to intercept us.
Fiction book (1997) -
The British military dispatched a gunboat to patrol the coastal waters during the conflict.
Synonyms
7
3.5
A small boat that watches for danger and protects a coast or harbor
3
5.0
A small armed boat used near coasts or rivers to patrol and fight
1
5.2
A boat that watches and protects a harbor or ships
A small boat that patrols and watches for danger near a harbor or fleet
A small fast navy boat that carries torpedoes to attack ships
A small, fast war boat used for quick attacks and patrols
Compounds
- Literature
1
8.1
Using or threatening military force to make another country obey, often by sending ships
How Armed
- Specialized
62
7.3
- Specialized
5
8.2
- Specialized
43
8.2
- Specialized
7
6.6
- Specialized
7
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Gunboat is made from gun ('weapon') and boat ('small ship'), so it literally means a boat carrying guns. That's why a gunboat is a small, shallow boat armed to patrol coasts and rivers.