gunboat

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a relatively small warship armed with one or more mounted guns, often designed for coastal or river operations

   The gunboat patrolled the shallow river near the fortified port.

Appears in

Formed in English from gun + boat. The term became common for small, heavily armed vessels used in coastal and river warfare; their use to pressure weaker states also produced the phrase gunboat diplomacy.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary