supercarrier
noun
su·per·car·ri·er
ˌsü-pər-ˈker-ē-ər 
-ˈka-rē-
plural supercarriers
: a very large aircraft carrier
The revival of support for the nuclear-powered supercarrier in the last three years has been little short of miraculous.—
U.S. Naval Institute
U.S. Naval InstituteIncluded in the supercarrier contingent are eight astonishingly large and sophisticated Nimitz-class floating cities, crewed by nearly 6,000 people and capable of launching more aircraft per minute than Chicago's O'Hare Airport …—Gregg Easterbrook
Gregg EasterbrookExamples of supercarrier in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One photo shared on X appeared to show a U.S. supercarrier burning in the Red Sea, while other images that were shared on multiple apps highlighted the aftermath of a major fire on a flattop's flight deck.
—Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
In the modern age, only supercarriers warrant such a power system.
—Matthew Bodner, NBC News, 2 Mar. 2025
The 80,000-ton carrier dwarfs the PLAN’s two active carriers, the 66,000-ton Shandong and the 60,000-ton Liaoning, putting it in the league of supercarriers.
—Edward Szekeres and Brad Lendon, CNN, 1 Nov. 2024
In fact, a Swedish submarine using a similar Stirling AIP system, the HSwMS Gotland, repeatedly defeated the anti-submarine capabilities of the USS Ronald Reagan’s carrier strike group in 2005, sinking the supercarrier in several simulated battles.
—Alex Hollings, Popular Mechanics, 5 Apr. 2023
To compare, America’s previous first-in-class supercarrier, the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), needed 8.3 years to get from Milestone II—today’s Milestone B (a sort of procurement starting point) — to an Initial Operational Capability (IOC), while the USS Ford has taken more than 17 years.
—Craig Hooper, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2021
The exercises featured a helicopter firing a small anti-ship missile, one far too small to do much damage to an American supercarrier.
—Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 28 July 2020
The Navy could buy a smaller or less capable version of its current $13-billion-apiece Ford-class supercarrier—a non-nuclear variant, for instance.
—David Axe, Forbes, 5 Apr. 2021
Symbolic gestures recognized individual Black Americans who were posthumously honored with a Pulitzer Prize, the naming of a new naval supercarrier, and the renaming of NASA headquarters in Washington.
—Lindsey McGinnis, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Dec. 2020
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Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
In the modern age, only supercarriers warrant such a power system.
—Matthew Bodner, NBC News, 2 Mar. 2025
The 80,000-ton carrier dwarfs the PLAN’s two active carriers, the 66,000-ton Shandong and the 60,000-ton Liaoning, putting it in the league of supercarriers.
—Edward Szekeres and Brad Lendon, CNN, 1 Nov. 2024
In fact, a Swedish submarine using a similar Stirling AIP system, the HSwMS Gotland, repeatedly defeated the anti-submarine capabilities of the USS Ronald Reagan’s carrier strike group in 2005, sinking the supercarrier in several simulated battles.
—Alex Hollings, Popular Mechanics, 5 Apr. 2023
To compare, America’s previous first-in-class supercarrier, the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), needed 8.3 years to get from Milestone II—today’s Milestone B (a sort of procurement starting point) — to an Initial Operational Capability (IOC), while the USS Ford has taken more than 17 years.
—Craig Hooper, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2021
The exercises featured a helicopter firing a small anti-ship missile, one far too small to do much damage to an American supercarrier.
—Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 28 July 2020
The Navy could buy a smaller or less capable version of its current $13-billion-apiece Ford-class supercarrier—a non-nuclear variant, for instance.
—David Axe, Forbes, 5 Apr. 2021
Symbolic gestures recognized individual Black Americans who were posthumously honored with a Pulitzer Prize, the naming of a new naval supercarrier, and the renaming of NASA headquarters in Washington.
—Lindsey McGinnis, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Dec. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Supercarrier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supercarrier. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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