gunship

noun

gun·​ship ˈgən-ˌship 

: a helicopter or cargo aircraft armed with rockets and machine guns

Examples of gunship in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Considered one of the most impressive diving destinations in the Grenadines, it can be paired with an excursion to the wreck of the Puruni, a British gunship that has been sitting beneath 40 feet of water off the coast of the island for more than a century. —Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2026

In the aftermath of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq used helicopter gunships to crush a rebellion in Iraqi Kurdistan. —Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 25 Feb. 2026

Its very presence seemed to affect the adjacent gunship and yacht. —Jeff Spry, Space.com, 30 Jan. 2026

About 20 Air Force combat planes, including F-15Es, A-10s and AC-130J gunships, as well as MQ-9 Reaper drones and Jordanian F-16 fighter jets, fired more than 90 bombs and missiles toward at least 35 targets Saturday, according to Capt. —Arkansas Online, 11 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gunship

• airship
• airstrip
• clerkship
• courtship
• equip
• filmstrip
• flagship
• headship
• heirship
• judgeship
• kinship
• lightship

Kids Definition

gunship

noun

gun·​ship -ˌship 

: an aircraft armed with rockets and machine guns for protection of ground troops or helicopters carrying them