flagship

flag +‎ ship

• IPA^(key): /ˈflæɡʃɪp/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

flagship (plural flagships)

1. (nautical, military) The ship occupied by the fleet's commander (usually an admiral); it denotes this by flying his flag.
   • 2022 April 21, Neil MacFarquhar, Alina Lobzina, “With sunken warship, Russian disinformation faces a test.”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     After Russia’s flagship in the Black Sea, the Moskva, sank last week, the authorities said that the entire crew of more than 500 had been rescued.

2. (nautical) The ship regarded as most important out of a group, e.g. a nation's navy or company's fleet.
3. (by extension, often attributive) The most important one out of a related group.

   Synonyms: chief, primary, principal, showcase

   The retail company's store in London is their flagship.

   • 2015 October 20, Stuart Dredge, “Google Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P review roundup: impressive Android flagships”, in The Guardian‎:

     Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo considered the two smartphones together, and claimed them worthy flagships for Android: […]

   • 2017 October 2, Jess Cartner-Morle, “Stella McCartney lays waste to disposable fashion in Paris”, in The Guardian‎:

     Next year, Stella McCartney’s London flagship store will move from Bruton Street to a landmark Old Bond Street location. The move is the most prominent symbol of the label’s strong financial results.

   • 2022 January 12, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Vere admits to Lords: IRP lacks information”, in RAIL, number 948, page 10:

     Transport Minister Baroness Vere has conceded that the Government does not yet know how its flagship £96 billion Integrated Rail Plan "will actually work on the ground".

• (principal ship): admiral, admiral ship

• flagship species

flagship (third-person singular simple present flagships, present participle flagshipping, simple past and past participle flagshipped)

1. To act as a flagship for.

• “flagship”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.