Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Man-of-war
Manˊ-of-war′
,n
;
pl.
Men-of-war
. 1.
A government vessel employed for the purposes of war, esp. one of large size; a ship of war.
[wns=1]
Syn. – ship of the line.
Man-of-war hawk
(Zool.)
, the frigate bird.
– Man-of-war’s man
, a sailor serving in a ship of war.
– Portuguese man-of-war
(Zool.)
, any species of the genus
Physalia
; it is a hydrozoan having both medusa and polyp stages present in a single colony. It floats on the surface of the sea by a buoyant bladderlike structure, from which dangle multiple long tentacles with stinging cells. Its can cause severe rashes when it comes in contact with humans swimming in the area. See Physalia
.Definition 2024
man-of-war
man-of-war
See also: man of war
English
Alternative forms
- man of war; man-o’-war, man o’ war, man-o-war
Noun
man-of-war (plural men-of-war)
- Used other than as an idiom: see man, of, war. (A military man.)
- An armed naval vessel, primarily one armed with cannon and propelled by sails.
- A jellyfish-like marine cnidarian of the family Physaliidae, a Portuguese man-of-war or Pacific man-of-war.
- A man of war bird, a magnificent frigatebird.
Synonyms
- (cnidarian): bluebottle
Derived terms
Translations
military man
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cnidarian — see Portuguese man-of-war
man of war bird — see magnificent frigatebird