Definition

Noun: A blockade-runner is a ship specifically designed or used to attempt to pass through a military blockade, typically to transport essential goods, supplies, or information into or out of a blockaded area.

Usage

The term is used to describe the vessel itself, not the crew or the act. It is a historical and military term, most commonly associated with naval warfare, particularly the American Civil War and various historical sieges.

Examples

• During the American Civil War, fast blockade-runners smuggled cotton from Confederate ports to trade for weapons and medicine.
• The navy increased its patrols to catch any blockade-runner attempting to reach the besieged city.
• That steamship was built as a blockade-runner, with a low profile and powerful engines for speed.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used metaphorically to describe any person or vehicle that evades a restrictive barrier or set of rules, though this is less common.
  • The journalist became a verbal blockade-runner, smuggling the truth past the government's censorship.

Variants and Related Words

• Blockade (n): The act of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving.
• Run a blockade (v): The act of attempting to pass through a blockade.
• Blockade-running (n): The practice or business of operating blockade-runners.

Synonyms

• Contraband runner
• Blockade breaker
• Smuggler ship (though "smuggler" is more general and not exclusively military)

Antonyms

• Blockade ship
• Blockader
• Patrol vessel

Related Phrases/Idioms

• To run the blockade: This is the verbal phrase from which the noun is derived. It describes the action the ship takes.
  • The captain decided to run the blockade under cover of darkness.

Noun

1. a ship that runs through or around a naval blockade