a ship providing facilities and supplies for a number of small vessels
mother ship in American English
noun
a vessel or craft that services others operating far from a home port or center
Word origin
[1885–90]This word is first recorded in the period 1885–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: foregut, lineup, scrum, seminar, zoom
Examples of 'mother ship' in a sentence
mother ship
`The Thurgan mother ship has just left its earth orbit and appears to be headed out of the solar system.