Meanings
plural fireships · alternative fire-ship · alternative fire ship
- historicalnauticalA wooden ship set alight and then sent floating into an enemy flotilla, with the aim of spreading the fire among them.
Fireships were famously used by Sir Francis Drake when fighting the Spanish Armada of 1588.
1 more example
His attempt in 208 to cross the Yangtse was frustrated in the famous battle of Ch'ih-pi, in which his immense fleet was destroyed by his enemies' fireships, and most of his army slain.
1984, Witold Rodzinksi, The Walled Kingdom: A History of China from 2000 BC to the Present, London: Fontana Paperbacks, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 69Synonyms: brulot
- slangvulgarA diseased prostitute.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA wooden ship set alight and then sent floating into an enemy flotilla, with the aim of spreading the fire among them.
Origin
Translations
Finnish polttolaiva
- polttolaivawooden ship set alight
French brûlot
- brûlotwooden ship set alight
German Brander, Brandschiff
- Branderwooden ship set alight
- Brandschiffwooden ship set alight
Greek πυρπολικό
- πυρπολικό (pyrpolikó)wooden ship set alight
Italian brulotto
- brulottowooden ship set alight
Polish brander
- branderwooden ship set alight
Portuguese brulote
- brulotewooden ship set alight
Russian бра́ндер
- бра́ндер (bránder)wooden ship set alight
Spanish brulote
- brulotewooden ship set alight
Cite this entry
fireship. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fireship
“fireship.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fireship. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fireship,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fireship.
Source: fireship on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.