floating mine

2 definitions found

floating mine - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  marine mine \ma*rine" mine`\, n. (Mil.)
     A military explosive device designed to be placed on or under
     the surface of a body of water, and to explode when ships
     pass nearby or come in contact with it. Its function is to
     destroy enemy ships or deny hostile naval forces access to
     certain areas of the sea, usually near the shoreline. Also
     called underwater mine and floating mine, and previously
     referred to as a torpedo (See torpedo[2]
     (a) ).
         [PJC]

floating mine - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  floating mine
      n 1: an explosive mine designed to destroy ships that bump into
           it [syn: floating mine, marine mine]