carrack

or car·ack

[ kar-uhk ]

/ ˈkær ək /

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noun

a merchant vessel having various rigs, used especially by Mediterranean countries in the 15th and 16th centuries; galleon.

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Origin of carrack

1350–1400; Middle English carrake<Middle French carraque<Spanish carraca, perhaps back formation from Arabic qarāqīr (plural of qurqūr ship of burden <Greek kérkouros), the -īr being taken as plural ending

Words nearby carrack

-carpous, carpsucker, carpus, Carr, Carracci, carrack, carrageen, carrageenan, Carrantuohill, Carranza, Carrara

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use carrack in a sentence

One carrack especially, commanded by Lawrence Foglietta resisted the attacks of seven English ships.
How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves|W.H.G. Kingston
After waiting patiently for some weeks, another still larger carrack, called the Madre de Dios hove in sight.
How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves|W.H.G. Kingston
The carrack, which was brought home in safety, was larger than any man-of-war or merchantman belonging to England.
How Britannia Came to Rule the Waves|W.H.G. Kingston
They sent a little carrack further down, and it had to come back because the water fell to boiling!
1492|Mary Johnston

She caught fire from a large French carrack, called the Marie la Cordelière, which she was attacking.
Ancient and Modern Ships.|George C. V. Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for carrack

carrack

/ (ˈkærək) /

noun

a galleon sailed in the Mediterranean as a merchantman in the 15th and 16th centuries

Word Origin for carrack

C14: from Old French caraque, from Old Spanish carraca, from Arabic qarāqīr merchant ships

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012