VocabauraVOCABAURA

flagship

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The ship regarded as most important out of a group, e.g.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

flagship

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈflæɡʃɪp

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. nautical

    The ship regarded as most important out of a group, e.g. a nation's navy or company's fleet.

  2. by extensionoften attributive

    The most important one out of a related group.

  3. The chief one of a related group

  4. nauticalmilitary

    The ship that carries the commander of a fleet and flies his flag

  5. nauticalmilitary

    The ship occupied by the fleet's commander (usually an admiral); it denotes this by flying his flag.

verb

  1. To act as a flagship for.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The ship regarded as most important out of a group, e.g. a nation's navy or company's fleet.

Used this way, flagship is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a military use: it belongs to service and operational language.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Specialist/technical
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Specialized
Connotation
Clinical and technical
Usage feel
Technical and specialized

Where it naturally appears

  • Military
  • Historical writing
  • News/reporting
  • Business/professional

Usage note

In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use flagship

  • “It is their flagship newspaper.”noun

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “flagship”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

flagship storenew flagshipbritish flagshipflagship productspanish flagshipflagship speciesflagship publicationflagship station

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “flagship” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.