I"ron*clad` (?), a.
1.
Clad in iron; protected or covered with iron, as a vessel for naval warfare.
2.
Rigorous; severe; exacting; as, an ironclad oath or pledge.
[Colloq.]
© Webster 1913.
I"ron*clad`, n.
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.
© Webster 1913.