Definition of "gunboat" []

• A small armed vessel. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Turkey is not a world power and they are not going to engage in gunboat diplomacy just to satisfy your desire to get even with Israel."
• "One of my officers has already been asked 'If we would not burn our gunboats as soon as the army left?' speaking as if a gunboat was a very ordinary affair, and could be burned with indifference."
• "She recalled her gunboat and as a concession to obtain peace, was permitted to acquire some territory in the French Congo country."