Definition of Ironside in English:

1A nickname for Oliver Cromwell.

1. 1.1 (in the English Civil War) a member of Oliver Cromwell's cavalry; a Puritan soldier.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • In early 1645 the New Model Army was formed, based largely on the Ironsides, who continued as part of the new army.
   • Oliver Cromwell's steel-clad Ironsides crushed the Royalist troops of Charles I, the Iron Cross honoured German military valour, the Iron Curtain marked the boundary of cold war national alliances.

2A 19th-century warship with armour plating; an ironclad.

1(An epithet of) Edmund II, king of England (reigned 1016).

2Generally (A name for) a person of great physical or mental strength. Also in plural in same sense. Now rare.

3(An epithet of) Oliver Cromwell. Also preceded by old.

4A member of Oliver Cromwell's cavalry; a Puritan soldier. Also in extended use. Now historical.

5Chiefly with lower-case initial. A warship plated with iron; = "ironclad". Now historical.