battlecruiser

English

Alternative forms

• battle cruiser, battle-cruiser

Etymology

Blend of battleship +‎ cruiser, from being a cruiser-like ship with battleship-like capabilities and possibly operating in the battleline.

Noun

battlecruiser (plural battlecruisers)

1. (military, nautical) A fast warship with thicker armor and heavier guns than a typical cruiser, but with armor, armament, or both still inferior to that of a dreadnought battleship; designed to act as an advanced scout of the battle fleet and to destroy enemy cruisers.

   Synonyms: supercruiser, cruiser-killer, large cruiser

   Coordinate terms: assault cruiser, command cruiser, fast battleship, large light cruiser, strike cruiser

   US Navy hull classification symbol: CC (Only used for the cancelled Lexington-class)

2. (fiction) A warship of intermediate size and/or capability between a heavy cruiser and a (light) battleship.
3. (Cockney rhyming slang) A boozer; a public house.
   • 2014, Steve Wilson, The Twelve Doors of Christmas Avenue, page 9:

     So he'd effectively had to learn a new language; no longer would he order a pint at the 'battle cruiser' […]

Translations

type of warship

• Czech: bitevní křižník (cs) m
• Esperanto: batalkrozoŝipo
• Finnish: taisteluristeilijä (fi)
• French: croiseur de bataille (fr) m
• German: Schlachtkreuzer m
• Greek: καταδρομικό μάχης n (katadromikó máchis), βαρύ καταδρομικό n (varý katadromikó)
• Hebrew: סַיֶּרֶת מַעֲרָכָה (he) f (sayeret ma'arakha), סַיֶּרֶת קְרָב (he) f (sayeret krav)
• Persian: رزم‌ناو (razm-nâv)
• Polish: krążownik liniowy (pl) m
• Russian: лине́йный кре́йсер (ru) m (linéjnyj kréjser)
• Swedish: slagkryssare (sv) c