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a vessel that can be submerged and navigated under water, usually built for warfare and armed with torpedoes or guided missiles.
something situated or living under the surface of the sea, as a plant or animal.
Chiefly Northeastern and North Midland U.S. a hero sandwich.
situated, occurring, operating, or living under the surface of the sea:
a submarine mountain.
of, relating to, or carried on by a submarine or submarines:
submarine warfare.
to participate in the operating of a submarine.
to move or slide under something.
Slang.

to be thrown under the steering wheel of the vehicle one is driving during a frontal crash.
to be thrown out of one’s seat belt in such a crash.

to attack or sink by submarine.
Contemporary Examples

LISI garbage: later discovered to be a submarine sandwich bag.
Rob Ford’s Web of Criminal Friends Michael Daly November 21, 2013

With the Cold War still in its final throes, the Navy had to keep the true nature of the submarine search a secret.
The Man Who Found the Titanic: A Tale of a Secret Expedition Andrew Carter April 14, 2012

In March 2010 a North Korean submarine, without cause, torpedoed the Cheonan, a South Korean frigate.
North Korea Threatens War, and South Korea Wants Revenge Gordon G. Chang April 10, 2013

It goes like grenade, grenade launcher, and then submarine.
The Real Jersey Dictionary, Vol. 3 Jaimie Etkin March 23, 2011

After the 9/11 attacks, the submarine force suddenly found itself without a mission.
Nuclear Sub Cheating Scandal Christopher Brownfield September 21, 2010

Historical Examples

The submarine hydrostat, as it is called, is one of the most ingenious and recent applications of the diving-bell principle.
Ocean’s Story; or Triumphs of Thirty Centuries Edward Rowland

You will both have opportunities to see much of the officers of the submarine Service.
City of Endless Night Milo Hastings

The inquiry was the result of the capture by a submarine of a Uruguayan military commission bound for France.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VII (of VIII) Various

She was stopped and boarded off Malmoe by the crew of a German submarine.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII) Various

Explore the bottom of the ocean in the vicinity of the island with my submarine boat.
Perseverance Island Douglas Frazar

noun
a vessel, esp one designed for warfare, capable of operating for protracted periods below the surface of the sea Often shortened to sub
(modifier)

of or relating to a submarine: a submarine captain
occurring or situated below the surface of the sea: a submarine cable

adj.

1640s, from sub- + marine (adj.).
n.

“submarine boat,” 1899, from submarine (adj.). The short form sub is first recorded 1917. Submarine sandwich (1955) so called from the shape of the roll.

n phr,n

hero sandwich • Also hoagy, torpedo, grinder, poor boy, etc depending on the locality

[1960s+; fr the shape of the bread cut lengthwise for the sandwich]