Definition of "fireship" [fireship]

• A sailing ship that has been set alight and left to drift into an opposing fleet. Famously used by Englishman Sir Francis Drake when fighting the Spanish Armada of 1588. (noun)
• A diseased prostitute. (noun)

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• "Francis Drake hardly figures at all: he has a couple of late scenes in a ship's cabin with map on table, saying "what shall we do, Walter?", while Clive Owen's Raleigh is the hero of the hour, single-handedly directing a fireship into the advancing CG Spanish fleet (special effects worse than an episode of Dr Who) and hence repelling the invaders."
• "I would have boarded a fireship to get into action, and mildly suggested as much to my friend Pea."
• "The Athenians, alarmed for the safety of their fleet, contrived means by which they extinguished their flames, and succeeded in keeping the fireship at a distance."