man-of-war

/ˌmæn əv ˈwɔː(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌmæn əv ˈwɔːr/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌma-nə(v)-ˈwȯr/ (ame, mw)

man-of-war — noun

1. a large sailing ship equipped with cannon and crewed by sailors, built by a navy

1.名詞B2
釋義

a large sailing ship equipped with cannon and crewed by sailors, built by a navy in past centuries to fight battles at sea

例句

The captain ordered the man-of-war to fire its cannons at the approaching enemy vessel.

subject–verb–object pattern for historical narrative

A fierce storm damaged the wooden hull of the man-of-war before it reached port.

collocation: wooden hull of the man-of-war

同義詞
  • warship

    broader term that includes both sailing and modern armoured vessels

  • battleship

    a later, heavily armoured steam-powered warship from the 19th–20th century

  • fighting ship

    less formal, non-technical description of any vessel built for combat

文法句型

plural: men-of-war

用法筆記

The plural form is men-of-war (the 'man' part changes to 'men', while 'war' remains singular). This historical term is now rare in everyday speech and appears mostly in naval history, museum displays, and historical fiction.

常見錯誤

❌A Portuguese man-of-war is a type of sailing ship.
✅A Portuguese man-of-war is a marine animal with stinging tentacles, not a ship.
💡The same compound word also describes a jellyfish-like creature, so context determines the meaning.