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Synonyms

ironclad

American  
[ahy-ern-klad, ahy-ern-klad] / ˈaɪ ərnˈklæd, ˈaɪ ərnˌklæd /

adjective

  1. covered or cased with iron plates, as a ship for naval warfare; armor-plated.

  2. very rigid or exacting; inflexible; unbreakable.

    an ironclad contract.

noun

  1. a wooden warship of the middle or late 19th century having iron or steel armor plating.

ironclad British  

adjective

  1. covered or protected with iron

    an ironclad warship

  2. inflexible; rigid

    an ironclad rule

  3. not able to be assailed or contradicted

    an ironclad argument
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a large wooden 19th-century warship with armoured plating

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ironclad

First recorded in 1850–55; iron + clad 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.