man-of-war

variants also man-o'-war

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of man-of-war Nassau had no men-of-war ships, and Trott’s stone fort was still a building site. Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024 My hundred-and-forty-foot man-of-war sought to make the first mission to the South Pole, a feat that would bring pride to England. Mike O’Brien, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2023 Its lyrics, about a sailor bidding goodbye to his lover before boarding a man-of-war bound for England, were written not by Mr. Whittaker but by a British silversmith who responded to a radio contest in which Mr. Whittaker invited listeners to send in verses, with the best put to music. Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2023 Just as airpower eventually killed off the great men-of-war that had ruled the waves for millennia, so cyberweapons might strip other weapons or tactics of their utility. Kenneth M. Pollack, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022 The average man-of-war was estimated by a leading shipwright to last only fourteen years. David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023 In May, the old East Indiaman finally emerged from the Deptford Dockyard as a man-of-war. David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for man-of-war
Noun
  • While steaming, be sure to hold the steamer nozzle upright so hot water doesn't spill or dribble out.
    Katelyn Squiers, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Apr. 2025
  • What is the difference between a (portable) steamer and iron?
    Kristine Thomason, Vogue, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • In February, Chinese warships held live-fire drills in waters near Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, known as the Beibu Gulf in China, after Hanoi published a map defining its territorial claims there.
    Nectar Gan, CNN Money, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Facing the threat posed by the Chinese navy, which has over 370 ships and submarines, the U.S. has sent warships to the Western Pacific Ocean following upgrades, including a laser-armed destroyer and an aircraft carrier that has stealth fighter jets embarked aboard.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • These preyed upon American merchantmen who either payed tribute or showed forged British passes.
    Thomas Wendel, National Review, 4 July 2019
  • The Navy already has ships in the fleet that are former merchantmen.
    Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 10 Jan. 2019
Noun
  • Told in first-person narrative with archival photos, the 225-page coffee-table book covers the family’s many setbacks and triumphs dating back to the early 1890s, when Jessop’s great-grandparents arrived in San Diego via steamship, rail and horsedrawn buggy.
    David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2025
  • The wooden steamship — which measured 95 feet and weighed 82 gross tons — was built in 1873 in Stockton, New South Wales, according to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
    Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 12 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The barges appear to be connected in a continuous span, with the lead ship's ramp extended past the beach.
    Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2025
  • In 2002, a freight barge struck a pier of Oklahoma’s Interstate 40 bridge after the towboat’s captain lost consciousness, collapsing a section of the bridge and killing 14.
    Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Ross’ outside-of-the-box ingenuity also fueled a project by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans that found Ross shipping himself in a freighter crate that journeyed from Rhode Island to Alabama.
    Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2024
  • But the freighter may not be grounded forever.
    Mike Wall, Space.com, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • With past tanker seizures straining relations between Tehran and Washington, the move could escalate tensions further.
    Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025
  • But deploying firefighters, helicopters and water tankers is often based on human decisions.
    Devendra Goyal, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • As a teenager, Ellen Dare Burling had an unusual summer job: Jumping off a moving ferryboat onto wooden piers, her arms filled with letters and packages destined for summer residents in their southern Wisconsin lake houses.
    Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 30 Mar. 2025
  • This is the quartet’s 10th season aboard the 1898 steam ferryboat Berkeley.
    Beth Wood, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Man-of-war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/man-of-war. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.

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