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Examples of merchant ship in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The shipwrecks were the remains of large, 200-feet-long wooden ships built by the Emergency Fleet Corporation, a wartime organization that led a push to build merchant ships to bolster the American war effort in 1917, then abandoned after the war’s end, according to the commission.
—Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2023
The weapons and parts are some of the same the Houthis use to threaten and attack merchant ships in the Red Sea, U.S. officials have said.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 22 Jan. 2024
But the tide shifted in early January when the Houthis launched a barrage of drones and missiles in response to the U.S. sinking of three Houthi vessels while responding to a distress call from a merchant ship under attack from the rebels.
—Shannon K. Crawford, ABC News, 15 Jan. 2024
In response to the tragedy, new safety regulations were adopted for merchant ships.
—Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 1 Sep. 2023
The individual success of Pyxis Ocean is encouraging news, but that’s just one of the 110,000-or-so merchant ships in the world.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 14 Mar. 2024
Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula, the film tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo — fifty unmarked wooden crates — from Carpathia to London.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 13 Aug. 2023
So far, the Biden administration has been trying to chip away at the ability of the Houthis to menace merchant ships and military vessels without killing large numbers of Houthi fighters and commanders, which could potentially unleash even more mayhem into a widening war.
—Helene Cooper, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2024
The militants have launched nearly 30 attacks on merchant ships in the region since November, linking their actions to the war in Gaza and Western support for Israel.
—Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 16 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'merchant ship.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of merchant ship was
in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near merchant ship
Cite this Entry
“Merchant ship.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/merchant%20ship. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
merchant ship
nounMore from Merriam-Webster on merchant ship
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for merchant ship
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about merchant ship
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