flagship

plural flagships

1. governmentThe ship occupied by the fleet's commander (usually an admiral); it denotes this by flying his flag.

   After Russia’s flagship in the Black Sea, the Moskva, sank last week, the authorities said that the entire crew of more than 500 had been rescued.

   2022 April 21, Neil MacFarquhar, Alina Lobzina, “With sunken warship, Russian disinformation faces a test.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   Synonyms: admiral, admiral ship

2. nauticalThe ship regarded as most important out of a group, e.g. a nation's navy or company's fleet.
3. attributivebroadlyoftenThe most important one out of a related group.

   The retail company's store in London is their flagship.

   4 more examples

   Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo considered the two smartphones together, and claimed them worthy flagships for Android: […]

   2015 October 20, Stuart Dredge, “Google Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P review roundup: impressive Android flagships”, in The Guardian

   Next year, Stella McCartney’s London flagship store will move from Bruton Street to a landmark Old Bond Street location. The move is the most prominent symbol of the label’s strong financial results.

   2017 October 2, Jess Cartner-Morle, “Stella McCartney lays waste to disposable fashion in Paris”, in The Guardian

   Transport Minister Baroness Vere has conceded that the Government does not yet know how its flagship £96 billion Integrated Rail Plan "will actually work on the ground".

   2022 January 12, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Vere admits to Lords: IRP lacks information”, in RAIL, number 948, page 10

   The latest prime minister, the recently reappointed Sébastien Lecornu, may have bought himself a stay of execution on Tuesday, sacrificing Emmanuel Macron’s flagship pensions overhaul in exchange for opposition Socialist votes as the price for his government’s survival.

   2025 October 15, Jon Henley, “France’s parliamentary permacrisis is the dawning of a new political reality”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms: chief, primary, principal, showcase

present singular third person flagships · participle present flagshipping · participle past flagshipped · past flagshipped

1. transitiveTo act as a flagship for.