A man-of-war less heavily armed and armored than a battle ship, having great speed, and generally of from two thousand to twelve thousand tons displacement.

a large fast warship; smaller than a battleship and larger than a destroyer

a boring museum of the Communist Revolution but good for kids who like climbing on ships

a multipurpose ship

A fast warship with a large cruising radius, smaller than a battleship but larger than a frigate.

A cruiser (From Dutch Kruiser, "something that crosses") is a classification of large warship. Historically they were generally considered the smallest ships capable of independent operations—destroyers usually requiring outside support such as tenders—but in modern parlance this difference has disappeared. In modern warfare the cruiser has virtually disappeared, supplanted in all roles by the destroyer, but certain ships are still named cruisers for reasons of military function.