The typical battleship of the 1890s, now known as the ' pre-dreadnought', had a main armament of four heavy guns of 12-inch (300 mm) calibre, a secondary armament of six to eighteen quick-firing guns of between 4.7-and-7.5-inch (119 and 191 mm) calibre, and other smaller weapons.

The distinctive all-big-gun armament of the dreadnought was developed in the first years of the 20th century as navies sought to increase the range and power of the armament of their battleships. Most of the original dreadnoughts were scrapped after the end of World War I under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, but many of the newer super-dreadnoughts continued serving throughout World War II. These more powerful vessels were known as ' super-dreadnoughts'. Within five years, new battleships outclassed Dreadnought herself. Successive designs increased rapidly in size and made use of improvements in armament, armour and propulsion throughout the dreadnought era.

Dreadnought races sprang up around the world, including in South America, lasting up to the beginning of World War I. As dreadnoughts became a crucial symbol of national power, the arrival of these new warships renewed the naval arms race between the United Kingdom and Germany. Her design had two revolutionary features: an 'all-big-gun' armament scheme, with an unprecedented number of heavy-calibre guns, and steam turbine propulsion. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's HMS Dreadnought, had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as 'dreadnoughts', and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts. The dreadnought (alternatively spelled dreadnaught) was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. For other uses, see Dreadnought (disambiguation).

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