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Definition of "ship of the line" [ship of the line]

  • A warship having at least two gun decks, armed powerfully enough to take a position in the line of battle. (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.

Use "ship of the line" in a sentence
  • "The Moniteur Universel would have blazed out in a paean of triumph, declaring to the Continent that this loss of a ship of the line was clear proof that England was tottering to her fall like ancient Carthage; in a month or two's time presumably there would be another announcement to the effect that a traitorous servant of perfidious Albion had met his just deserts against a wall in Vincennes or Montjuich."
  • "The AGAMEMNON stood towards her, having no ship of the line to support her within several miles."
  • "In August of 1816 he was again transferred, to the Queen Charlotte, Captain Brisbane, a ship of the line of 120 guns, and the flagship of Admiral Lord Exmouth, commanding in the Mediterranean."