'Men-of-war' definitions:

Definition of 'Men-of-war'

From: GCIDE
  • Man-of-war \Man`-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. [WordNet sense 1]
  • Syn: ship of the line. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. The Portuguese man-of-war.
  • Syn: Syn. --, jellyfish. [WordNet 1.5]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]