1.
a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended primarily to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or battle group and defend them against smaller, shorter-range attackers; a destroyer
A class of warship that sits between a frigate and a cruiser in size. Modern destroyers are multi-role vessels equipped with guns, missiles, torpedoes, and sonar, and are used for anti-aircraft, anti-submarine, and anti-ship operations. Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (海上自衛隊) designates most of its main surface combatants as 護衛艦 domestically, but these are typically translated into English as 'destroyers'.
新型の駆逐艦が進水した。
A new-model destroyer was launched.
この駆逐艦は対潜能力が高い。
This destroyer has strong anti-submarine capabilities.
駆逐艦は艦隊の周りを守る役割を果たす。
Destroyers play the role of defending the area around a fleet.
戦艦と比べると、駆逐艦は小型だが機動力に優れている。
Compared to battleships, destroyers are small but have excellent maneuverability.
Composed of 駆逐 (to drive away, to expel) + 艦 (warship, naval vessel). The literal sense 'driving-away warship' reflects the class's original late-19th-century role: small, fast ships built to chase off and destroy torpedo boats threatening larger capital ships. The name survives today even though the modern vessels bear little resemblance to the originals.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 駆逐艦を建造する: to build a destroyer
- 駆逐艦が出港する: (for) a destroyer to leave port
- イージス駆逐艦: Aegis destroyer
- 駆逐艦部隊: destroyer unit / flotilla
- 駆逐艦乗り: destroyer crewmember
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 護衛艦: escort ship — the formal designation used by Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force for what are internationally called destroyers. Because Japan's postwar constitution restricts offensive naming, this milder term is preferred in official Japanese usage.
- 巡洋艦: cruiser — a larger warship class, traditionally with more firepower and range than a destroyer.
- 戦艦: battleship — the largest and most heavily armored class of surface warship (no longer in active service in most navies).
- フリゲート: frigate — a class generally smaller or lighter than a destroyer, often with a more specialized role such as anti-submarine warfare.
- 潜水艦: submarine — unrelated, but often mentioned together when discussing naval fleet composition.
REGISTER:
Neutral written/spoken term found in news reports, history books, and discussions of the military. The related verb 駆逐する ('to drive out, to eliminate') is also used figuratively, e.g. 外来種を駆逐する ('to wipe out an invasive species').