Definition of "paravane" []

• A device equipped with sharp teeth and towed alongside a ship to cut the mooring cables of submerged mines. (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.

• "She gets ousted on "paravane," after wrangling with it for several awkward moments."
• "A paravane is made up of a strong steel hawser (rope) that serves as a fender, and of two razor-edged blades that serve to cut the mine-moorings free."
• "Dragging a paravane through the water made the ship go slow."