ship of the line
ship of the line noun: a large square-rigged warship large enough to have a place in the line of battle, with up to 140 guns on at least two decks. A capital ship from the age of sail, superior to a frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker.
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Noun
ship of the line (plural ships of the line)
- A large square-rigged warship large enough to have a place in the line of battle, with up to 140 guns on at least two decks. A capital ship from the age of sail, superior to a frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker.
- Synonyms:
- man-of-war, line of battle ship, liner
Synonyms of ship of the line
Forms of ship of the line
| plural | ships of the line |
|---|---|
| alternative form | ship-of-the-line |
Origin of ship of the line
Contraction of ship of the line of battle, a warship large enough to be in the line of battle. See also battleship, contracted from the same phrase; and line of battle ship.
Words formed from ship of the line
- liner
- line-ship
- line ship
- lineship
- senior ship of the line captain
- senior ship-of-the-line captain
- ship-of-the-line captain
- ship of the line captain
- ship-of-the-line ensign
- ship of the line ensign
- ship-of-the-line ensign first class
- ship of the line ensign first class
- ship of the line ensign second class
- ship-of-the-line ensign second class
- ship-of-the-line lieutenant
- ship of the line lieutenant
Questions about ship of the line
- What does ship of the line mean?
- Ship of the line means a large square-rigged warship large enough to have a place in the line of battle, with up to 140 guns on at least two decks. A capital ship from the age of sail, superior to a frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker.
- What part of speech is ship of the line?
- Ship of the line is a noun.
- What is the plural of ship of the line?
- The plural of ship of the line is ships of the line.
Words near ship of the line in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ship of the line (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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