minesweeper

[ mahyn-swee-per ]

/ ˈmaɪnˌswi pər /

a specially equipped ship used for dragging a body of water in order to remove or destroy enemy mines.

Origin of minesweeper

First recorded in 1900–05; mine² + sweeper

mine·sweep·ing, noun

There are days when a mine-sweeper captain, who is continually running the gauntlet of death, reckons that he has been fortunate.

Some Naval Yarns |Mordaunt Hall
The guns still played on us till we got back to a mine-sweeper.

The Irish at the Front |Michael MacDonagh
A little further south he signalled same orders to the patrol boat that he had given to the mine-sweeper.

Dave Darrin After The Mine Layers |H. Irving Hancock
The Turkish guns, which had been firing probably at some mine-sweeper, were silent again.

On Land And Sea At The Dardanelles |Thomas Charles Bridges

We were spotted by a mine-sweeper, and she raced to the rescue.

Some Naval Yarns |Mordaunt Hall

minesweeper

/ (ˈmaɪnˌswiːpə) /

a naval vessel equipped to detect and clear mines

minesweeping, noun