ship of the line

noun

A large square-rigged warship large enough to have a place in the line of battle, with up to 140 guns on at least two decks. A capital ship from the age of sail, superior to a frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker.

Similar
man-of-warline of battle shipliner
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Meanings

nounship of the line (plural ships of the line)

plural ships of the line · alternative ship-of-the-line

  1. governmentA large square-rigged warship large enough to have a place in the line of battle, with up to 140 guns on at least two decks. A capital ship from the age of sail, superior to a frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker.

    Synonyms: man-of-war, line of battle ship, liner

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA large square-rigged warship large enough to have a place in the line of battle, with up to 140 guns on at least two decks. A capital ship from the age of sail, superior to a frigate; usually, a seventy-four, or three-decker.

Similar
man-of-warline of battle shipliner

More synonyms by meaning

nouna warship intended for combat

Similar
man-of-war
Broader
warshipwar vesselcombat ship
Also see
man-of-war

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Contraction of ship of the line of battle, a warship large enough to be in the line of battle. See also battleship, contracted from the same phrase; and line of battle ship.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian лине́ен ко́раб
  • лине́ен ко́раб (linéen kórab)large square-rigged warship
Catalan navili de línia
  • navili de línialarge square-rigged warship
Chinese Mandarin 第一線作戰軍艦 /第一线作战军舰
  • 第一線作戰軍艦 /第一线作战军舰 (dì-yīxiàn zuòzhàn jūnjiàn)large square-rigged warship
Czech řadová loď
  • řadová loďlarge square-rigged warship
Esperanto liniŝipo
  • liniŝipolarge square-rigged warship
Finnish linjalaiva
  • linjalaivalarge square-rigged warship
Polish okręt liniowy
  • okręt liniowylarge square-rigged warship
Russian лине́йный кора́бль
  • лине́йный кора́бль (linéjnyj koráblʹ)large square-rigged warship
Spanish barco de la línea
  • barco de la línealarge square-rigged warship
Ukrainian ліні́йний корабе́ль
  • ліні́йний корабе́ль (liníjnyj korabélʹ)large square-rigged warship
Cite this entry
APA

ship of the line. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ship%20of%20the%20line

MLA

“ship of the line.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ship%20of%20the%20line. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ship of the line,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ship%20of%20the%20line.

Source: ship of the line on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.