Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Sheathed with iron plates for protection.
- adjective Rigid; fixed.
- noun A 19th-century warship having sides armored with metal plates.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Covered or cased with iron plates, as a vessel for naval warfare; armor-plated.
- Figuratively, very rigid or strict; constructed, as a form of words, so as to allow no evasion or escape, or permit no flaw to be detected.
- Noting an electrical apparatus or machine in which the iron part of the structure completely or partly surrounds and thereby mechanically protects the electric conductors: as, an iron-clad armature, one having the conductors embedded in slots or holes.
- noun A naval vessel cased or covered wholly or partly with thick iron or steel plates, generally having a heavy backing of wood, so armored to resist projectiles or the attacks of rams or other armored vessels.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A naval vessel having the parts above water covered and protected by iron or steel usually in large plates closely joined and made sufficiently thick and strong to resist heavy shot. Modern naval vessels are made of steel throughout, and this term is only used in historical contexts.
- adjective having an outer covering of iron or steel.
- adjective so strong or secure as to be unbreakable.
- adjective Clad in iron; protected or covered with iron, as a vessel for naval warfare.
- adjective colloq. Rigorous; unbreakable; severe; exacting; inflexible.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Covered with
iron ,steel , or somemetal ,armor-plated - adjective figuratively Solid or
certain ; not able to bedisputed orquestioned ;irrefutable . - noun A metal-plated
ship ,vessel , orvehicle - noun military An armor-plated
warship .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a wooden warship of the 19th century that is plated with iron or steel armor
- adjective sheathed in iron plates for protection
- adjective inflexibly entrenched and unchangeable
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"Unfortunately the word ironclad is a bit of a myth," says divorce lawyer Clifford M. Solomon, partner of Solomon Tanenbaum in Westchester.
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“When a Grumley give his word, his word is ironclad.”
A Bob Lee Swagger eBook Boxed Set Stephen Hunter 2009
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“When a Grumley give his word, his word is ironclad.”
A Bob Lee Swagger eBook Boxed Set Stephen Hunter 2009
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“When a Grumley give his word, his word is ironclad.”
A Bob Lee Swagger eBook Boxed Set Stephen Hunter 2009
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The Confederates were fully aware of this, and as soon as they could, placed on the waters of their rivers and harbors vessels new to naval warfare, called ironclad rams.
A School History of the United States John Bach McMaster 1892
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Refinancing: A renegotiation of terms that occurs when you and the bank decide that the original agreement, while originally structured to be a long-term ironclad contract, is in fact as ephemeral and inconsequential as a Britney Spears marriage.
Vortex Media Group John Lee Pettimore 2010
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They're not "ironclad," warns Morningstar mutual fund analyst Michael Herbst.
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Yes, the studies seem to convincing, but if they are wrong, it wouldn't be the first time an 'ironclad' result was overturned.
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Scholars call the German case against America "ironclad".
"President Bush got the world's attention this fall when he warned that a nuclear-armed Iran might lead to World War III." Ann Althouse 2007
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But what is "ironclad" is that the Toll Road takeover is a triumph of ideology over economics.
Indiana Toll Road Takeover: Triumph of Ideology over Economics 2006
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