Alaska-class large cruisers and the battlecruiser inheritance

How should the Alaska class be classified?

They fit the large-cruiser label, but also inherit the battlecruiser role intended for the cancelled Lexington class: using exceptional size and armament to destroy enemy cruisers.

The large-cruiser label fits, although the Alaska class also inherited the role intended for the cancelled Lexington battlecruisers. They were exceptionally large cruisers designed to overpower opposing cruisers rather than ordinary treaty cruisers. Their intended prey and fleet function matter as much as displacement when interpreting the class. Classification depends on both the formal label and the operational problem a design was meant to solve.