The Collaborative International Dictionary
Torpedo-boat destroyer
Torpedo-boat destroyer \Tor*pe"do-boat` de*stroy"er\ A larger, swifter, and more powerful armed type of torpedo boat, originally intended principally for the destruction of torpedo boats, but later used also as a more formidable torpedo boat.
WordNet
torpedo-boat destroyer
n. small destroyer that was the forerunner of modern destroyers; designed to destroy torpedo boats
Usage examples of "torpedo-boat destroyer".
He is a kind of spy-destroyer performing in his sphere the same service that the torpedo-boat destroyer does in its domain.