line of battle ship

English

Noun

line of battle ship (plural line of battle ships)

1. (nautical, military, obsolete) A ship of the line or battleship.
   • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 112:

     I have said that our roof was decidedly Biblical in style; but to make it a dry one, something of a nautical character was added to its architecture, for on either side were scuppers, and it was slightly arched in the centre; it was commonly said that two masts, a bowsprit and a swivel gun would have transformed our dwelling into a line-of-battle ship[.]