Definition of "battlecruiser"

(military, nautical) A fast warship with thicker armor and heavier guns than a typical cruiser, but with armor, armament, or both still inferior to that of a dreadnought battleship; designed to act as an advanced scout of the battle fleet and to destroy enemy cruisers.

(fiction) A warship of intermediate size and/or capability between a heavy cruiser and a (light) battleship.  examples

(Cockney rhyming slang) A boozer; a public house.  quotations