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# gunboat

noun (a gunboat, gunboats)

«gunboat» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A small warship with big guns, used especially on rivers or near the coast. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gunboat/#m1)
2. «Gunboat diplomacy» means a strong country forcing weaker ones to agree by threatening to use its navy or army. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gunboat/#m2)

### In the lessons

In history lessons about the British Empire and the 1800s, gunboats patrolled rivers in China and Africa, and «gunboat diplomacy» describes bullying by powerful countries.

### Examples

- A gunboat sailed up the river. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gunboat/#x1)
- The navy sent two gunboats to guard the harbour. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gunboat/#x2)
- The gunboat's guns pointed at the shore. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gunboat/#x3)
- Historians call this «gunboat diplomacy». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gunboat/#x4)
- Gunboats were used in the Opium Wars in China. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gunboat/#x5)
- The model gunboat had tiny cannons. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gunboat/#x6)

### Note

Countable; one word.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «gunboat» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/G/gunboat/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«gunboat» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/gunboat.html) on Mova free.