Examples of gunboat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hamilton and Madison would have been aligned in horrified opposition had Washington, without congressional action, dispatched gunboats to sink British ships.
—
Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2026
During a fight with Iranian naval forces, the frigate USS Simpson sank an Iranian gunboat with an anti-ship missile after the Iranian boat fired a missile of its own at the Simpson and two other ships.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 5 Mar. 2026
Unfortunately, none of the Iranian gunboats was shot up and sunk.
—Rob Crilly, The Washington Examiner, 6 Feb. 2026
Iranian gunboats also tried to board a U.S. merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Central Command.
—Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gunboat
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2026
During a fight with Iranian naval forces, the frigate USS Simpson sank an Iranian gunboat with an anti-ship missile after the Iranian boat fired a missile of its own at the Simpson and two other ships.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 5 Mar. 2026
Unfortunately, none of the Iranian gunboats was shot up and sunk.
—Rob Crilly, The Washington Examiner, 6 Feb. 2026
Iranian gunboats also tried to board a U.S. merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. Central Command.
—Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for gunboat
Cite this Entry
“Gunboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gunboat. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
gunboat
noun
gun·boat
ˈgən-ˌbōt 
: a small lightly armed ship for use in shallow waters
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
