torpedo-boat destroyer

2 definitions found

torpedo-boat destroyer - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Torpedo-boat destroyer \Tor*pe"do-boat` de*stroy"er\
     A larger, swifter, and more powerful armed type of torpedo
     boat, originally intended principally for the destruction of
     torpedo boats, but later used also as a more formidable
     torpedo boat.
     [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

torpedo-boat destroyer - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  torpedo-boat destroyer
      n 1: small destroyer that was the forerunner of modern
           destroyers; designed to destroy torpedo boats