Battle-cruiser

Full definition of battle-cruiser

Noun

1. (military) A type of warship equal in size or larger than a battleship, and of greater speed, but with less armour and fewer guns. Introduced ca. 1908 and forming the leading squadrons of WWI battle fleets but obsolescent by WWII, having been replaced by the "fast battleship" type.
2. In fiction, a warship of intermediate capability between cruisers and battleships