man-of-war

variants also man-o'-war
Definition of man-of-warnext

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of man-of-war Melville wrote two more sailing novels that blended fiction and nonfiction based on his experiences on a merchant vessel (Redburn) and a man-of-war (White-Jacket), neither of which succeeded. — Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026 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 The Portuguese man-of-war is a siphonophore, meaning it is made up of a colony of organisms that each have a special function, according to the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife. — Caroline Wilburn, Houston Chronicle, 9 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 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 water should remain below the steamer basket when cooking begins.
    — Amber Love Bond, Southern Living, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Instead, remove wallpaper using a steamer, commercial wallpaper remover, or DIY liquid remover.
    — Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 15 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • The Navy already has ships in the fleet that are former merchantmen.
    — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 10 Jan. 2019
Noun
  • In August, at Finland’s request, the Swedish government deployed fighter aircraft and a warship to help patrol Finland’s eastern airspace and the Gulf of Finland against Russian air incursions and drones straying from Ukrainian operations.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The experience highlighted a central problem in warship procurement; selecting an existing design does not necessarily guarantee faster or cheaper construction if the customer substantially changes its architecture.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • That last pandemic was accelerated by a boom in rail and steamship travel but was eventually quashed by advances in science.
    — Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Passenger boats have not passed through these parts since the days of the steamship petered all the way out some 60 years ago.
    — Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Kemetale This boutique operator, which launched in 2022 with the Kemet Dahabeya, has small-scale ships that take their cues from the traditional dahabeah, a kind of sailing barge.
    — Susan B. Barnes, Travel + Leisure, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Men stand on the side of a barge in New York Harbor holding a rope attached to a wooden crate from which Harry Houdini was trying to escape July 7, 1912.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Mouthwashing follows five crew members stranded aboard the space freighter Tulpar, which crash lands on an asteroid.
    — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2026
  • While the pic’s storyline is under wraps, the game follows five crew members who are stranded aboard the space freighter Tulpar, where dwindling supplies, isolation and mounting paranoia expose the fractures between them.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • When the tanker’s food was exhausted, suppliers started bringing rice, daal, tomatoes and potatoes.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The tanker derives from Boeing’s 767 platform, which has recorded 1,361 deliveries since 1982.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • But nearly a decade since the first city-run ferryboat set sail, the system has been working to win over skeptics.
    — Julia Press, Bloomberg, 22 May 2026
  • Crofton will be the only living person with a Disney ferryboat named after her.
    — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Man-of-war.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/man-of-war. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on man-of-war

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster