variants
also man-o'-war
as in steamer
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Recent Examples of man-of-war
Somewhere over the course of their evolution, the class of hydrozoans — which includes certain kinds of jellyfish, hydras, and colonial siphonophores such as the Portuguese man-of-war — lost the genes that operate circadian clocks in the rest of the animal kingdom.
—
Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
Chad Ryan’s scenic design of George and Martha’s rotting-from-the-inside house is decorated with the symbols of war, like a framed sword, a model man-of-war battleship and a bust of Napoleon.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Nassau had no men-of-war ships, and Trott’s stone fort was still a building site.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
My hundred-and-forty-foot man-of-war sought to make the first mission to the South Pole, a feat that would bring pride to England.
—Mike O’Brien, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2023
Its lyrics, about a sailor bidding goodbye to his lover before boarding a man-of-war bound for England, were written not by Mr. Whittaker but by a British silversmith who responded to a radio contest in which Mr. Whittaker invited listeners to send in verses, with the best put to music.
—Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2023
Just as airpower eventually killed off the great men-of-war that had ruled the waves for millennia, so cyberweapons might strip other weapons or tactics of their utility.
—Kenneth M. Pollack, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022
Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
Chad Ryan’s scenic design of George and Martha’s rotting-from-the-inside house is decorated with the symbols of war, like a framed sword, a model man-of-war battleship and a bust of Napoleon.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Nassau had no men-of-war ships, and Trott’s stone fort was still a building site.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
My hundred-and-forty-foot man-of-war sought to make the first mission to the South Pole, a feat that would bring pride to England.
—Mike O’Brien, The New Yorker, 7 Nov. 2023
Its lyrics, about a sailor bidding goodbye to his lover before boarding a man-of-war bound for England, were written not by Mr. Whittaker but by a British silversmith who responded to a radio contest in which Mr. Whittaker invited listeners to send in verses, with the best put to music.
—Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2023
Just as airpower eventually killed off the great men-of-war that had ruled the waves for millennia, so cyberweapons might strip other weapons or tactics of their utility.
—Kenneth M. Pollack, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for man-of-war
Noun
-
The first was built in 1845 and was a wooden steamer that saw action during the Mexican American war.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Hundreds of thousands of power steamers have been recalled due to potential burn risks to their users, safety officials said in a recall notice.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
These preyed upon American merchantmen who either payed tribute or showed forged British passes.—
Thomas Wendel,
National Review,
4 July 2019
-
The Navy already has ships in the fleet that are former merchantmen.—
Kyle Mizokami,
Popular Mechanics,
10 Jan. 2019
Noun
-
The once-largest navy in the world had to borrow a warship from Germany to fulfill its NATO obligations to patrol the North Atlantic.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
1 Apr. 2026
-
On Saturday, the USS Tripoli, a naval warship, arrived in the Middle East carrying about 3,500 sailors and Marines and a transport of fighter planes.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There was no direct overland route, so cross-country mail got routed via steamship around South America.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Victor Rillet, a 21-year-old Frenchman, disembarked the steamship Washington in New York in October 1864, carrying the kind of optimism that fuels both great innovation and spectacular disappointment.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
On Wednesday, Lorenzo Palomares, the attorney for the company that owns the barge, said Insua was a good employee.—
April 3,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The Malin Augustea barge has been used for frigate float-off operations for both HMS Active and the first ship in the Type 31 class, HMS Venturer.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The 287-foot freighter was intentionally sunk to create an artificial reef in 1985.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
14 Mar. 2026
-
In this screenshot from one of the live cameras aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the new Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL freighter is being jettisoned away from the station.—
Brett Tingley,
Space.com,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The tanker is believed to have carried approximately 9,000 gallons of gasoline during the crash.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 Apr. 2026
-
In 1990, a tanker ship ran over its own anchor; a quarter century later, a pipeline on land ruptured, sending a river of oil straight to the sea.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The ferryboat was on the go all day long, covering more miles in a day than the barge would cover in a century.—
Eric DuVall,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 Sep. 2025
-
One foggy morning this spring, a ferryboat traversed the choppy waters between lower Manhattan and Governors Island.—
Adam Iscoe,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Man-of-war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/man-of-war. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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