submarine

[ noun suhb-muh-reen, suhb-muh-reen; adjective, verb suhb-muh-reen ]
See synonyms for submarine on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a vessel that can be submerged and navigated under water, usually built for warfare and armed with torpedoes or guided missiles.

  2. something situated or living under the surface of the sea, as a plant or animal.

  1. Chiefly Northeastern and North Midland U.S. a hero sandwich.

adjective
  1. situated, occurring, operating, or living under the surface of the sea: a submarine mountain.

  2. of, relating to, or carried on by a submarine or submarines: submarine warfare.

verb (used without object),sub·ma·rined, sub·ma·rin·ing.
  1. to participate in the operating of a submarine.

  2. to move or slide under something.

  1. Slang.

    • to be thrown under the steering wheel of the vehicle one is driving during a frontal crash.

    • to be thrown out of one's seat belt in such a crash.

verb (used with object),sub·ma·rined, sub·ma·rin·ing.
  1. to attack or sink by submarine.

Origin of submarine

1
1640–50; 1895–1900 for def. 1; sub- + marine

regional variation note For submarine

3. See hero sandwich.

Other words from submarine

  • an·ti·sub·ma·rine, adjective

Words Nearby submarine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use submarine in a sentence

  • Meanwhile, the Australian submarine has got up through the Narrows and has torpedoed a gunboat at Chunuk.

  • The submarine E.14 sailed into harbour after a series of hair-raising adventures in the Sea of Marmora.

  • As we were leaving, a message came in to say that an enemy submarine had been sighted off Gaba Tepe.

  • The submarine scare is full on; the beastly things have frightened us more than all the Turks and all their German guns.

  • Asking his commands, the stranger said, 'I am one of the submarine inhabitants of this neighborhood.

British Dictionary definitions for submarine

submarine

/ (ˈsʌbməˌriːn, ˌsʌbməˈriːn) /


noun
  1. a vessel, esp one designed for warfare, capable of operating for protracted periods below the surface of the sea: Often shortened to: sub

  2. (modifier)

    • of or relating to a submarine: a submarine captain

    • occurring or situated below the surface of the sea: a submarine cable

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012