• Hull-down

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    Full definition of hull-down

    Adjective

    hull-down

    1. (nautical) Of a ship so far distant that only the masts and sails are visible above the horizon
      • 1898, Joseph Conrad, In the morning a homeward-bound ship passed us hull down, -- the first we had seen for months; ...
    2. (military) Of a tank, stopped with its hull protected by ground to the front, so that its occupants or weapons have a line of sight forward.

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