slave ship

noun

1. a ship for transporting enslaved captives from their native homes to places of bondage.

slave ship

noun

1. a ship used to transport slaves, esp formerly from Africa to the New World

Word History and Origins

Origin of slave ship¹

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

The payments came from forfeitures of slave ships and fines on their owners, with the proceeds divided 50-50 between the government and the litigants.

From Los Angeles Times

A congressional investigation into the program likened one boat used to transport deportees to an “18th-century slave ship.”

From Salon

In this final section, a haunting combination of music and dance, Brooks calls up ghosts and ancestors from whalers and slave ships.

From New York Times

Gallagher is particularly interested in the phenomenon of whale falls — whale carcasses that sink to the ocean bed — and their resemblance to sunken slave ships.

From New York Times

It’s almost like a slave ship, like individuals chained into a boat together.

From Los Angeles Times