battlecruiser

• battle cruiser, battle-cruiser

Blend of battleship +‎ cruiser, from being a cruiser-like ship with battleship-like capabilities and possibly operating in the battleline.

battlecruiser (plural battlecruisers)

1. (military, nautical) A fast warship with thicker armor and heavier guns than a typical cruiser, but with armor, armament, or both still inferior to that of a dreadnought battleship; designed to act as an advanced scout of the battle fleet and to destroy enemy cruisers.

   Synonyms: supercruiser, cruiser-killer, large cruiser

   Coordinate terms: assault cruiser, command cruiser, fast battleship, large light cruiser, strike cruiser

   US Navy hull classification symbol: CC (Only used for the cancelled Lexington-class)

2. (fiction) A warship of intermediate size and/or capability between a heavy cruiser and a (light) battleship.
3. (Cockney rhyming slang) A boozer; a public house.
   • 2014, Steve Wilson, The Twelve Doors of Christmas Avenue, page 9:

     So he'd effectively had to learn a new language; no longer would he order a pint at the 'battle cruiser' […]