See Also: navy(dictionary)
navy(encyclopedia)
navy(dictionary)
Royal Navy(encyclopedia)
Royal Navy, the(dictionary)
merchant navy(dictionary)
navy bean(dictionary)
navy blue(dictionary)
Navy Bean Soup(recipes)
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, government(law)

navy (iou)



navy noun & adjective. In sense A.3 also Navy. ME.
[Old French navie ship, fleet from Proto-Romance var. of popular Latin navia from Latin navis ship: see -Y3.]
A. noun.
Ships collectively, shipping. ME-L15.
A number of ships collected together, esp. for war; a fleet. Now poet. & rhet. ME.
the navy, (a) the whole body of a State's ships of war, including crews, maintenance systems, equipment, etc.; a regularly organized and maintained naval force; (b) the people serving in a navy. LME.
merchant navy: see MERCHANT adjective. Royal Navy: see ROYAL adjective. Wavy Navy: see WAVY adjective.
Armed Forces There are 35 shipyards producing..warships for the navies of 16 nations. Daily Telegraph A 10-year-old choirboy..was rescued by a Navy helicopter.
a. A type of revolver, esp. a Colt, used in the navy. Also navy revolver. M19.
b. A type of tobacco used esp. in the navy (also more fully navy plug). Also, cigarette ends etc. as picked up by a tramp. L19.
c. Rum as drunk in the navy; a ration of this. Also navy rum. M20.
Navy blue. L19.
Comb.: navy bean = HARICOT 1; navy blue noun & adjective (of) a dark blue, the colour of the British naval uniform; Navy Cut (proprietary name for) a kind of finely sliced cake tobacco; Navy Department US the government department controlling the navy; Navy League an organization founded to arouse national interest in the Navy; Navy List an official publication containing a list of naval officers and other nautical information; navy plug: see sense 4b above; navy register US = Navy List above; navy revolver: see sense 4a above; navy rum: see sense 4c above; navy yard (now US) a government shipyard with civilian labour.
b. adjective. Of the dark blue colour of the British naval uniform. L19.
K. Amis She wore her best suit of cream linen and a navy blouse.