battle cruiser

Definitions

(Noun) (or battlecruiser) Type of large warship, most examples built in earlier part of twentieth century. As large or larger than a battleship, with similar sized guns, but faster. Higher speed achieved by allocating greater proportion of ship's weight to engines, by reducing that for armour and, possibly, number or size of guns.

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(Noun) a large warship, similar to a battleship, but faster and with fewer guns and lighter armor than a battleship