convoy

American  

[kon-voi, kuhn-voi, kon-voi] / ˈkɒn vɔɪ, kənˈvɔɪ, ˈkɒn vɔɪ /

verb (used with object)

• convoys,
  present (3rd person singular)
• convoyed,
  past participle,  past
• convoying
  present participle

1. to accompany or escort, usually for protection.

   A destroyer convoyed the merchant ship.

---

noun

• convoys
  plural

1. the act of convoying.

2. the protection provided by an escort.

3. a ship, fleet, group of vehicles, etc., accompanied by a protecting escort.

4. an armed force, warship, etc., that escorts, especially for protection.

5. any group of military vehicles traveling together under the same orders.

6. Citizens Band Radio Slang. two or more CB-equipped vehicles traveling together.

convoy British  

/ ˈkɒnvɔɪ /

noun

1. a group of merchant ships with an escort of warships

2. a group of land vehicles assembled to travel together

3. the act of travelling or escorting by convoy (esp in the phrase in convoy )

---

verb

1. (tr) to escort while in transit

Synonym Usage

See accompany.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unconvoyed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• convoys
  plural

Participles

• convoying
  present
• convoyed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• convoy
  simple
• convoys
  simple
• have convoyed
  perfect
• has convoyed
  perfect
• am convoying
  progressive
• are convoying
  progressive
• is convoying
  progressive
• have been convoying
  perfect progressive
• has been convoying
  perfect progressive

Past

• convoyed
  simple
• had convoyed
  perfect
• was convoying
  progressive
• were convoying
  progressive
• had been convoying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will convoy
  simple
• will have convoyed
  perfect
• will be convoying
  progressive
• will have been convoying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of convoy

1325–75; Middle English convoyen < Middle French convoier, Anglo-French conveier to convey

Explanation

To travel in a convoy is to be escorted by a group of protective vehicles. If you are a teenage rock star with millions of fans, you probably need a security convoy just to go visit your grandmother. If the President visits your town, you may see a huge convoy of secret service vehicles, limousines, and police cars. Ships can also travel in convoys, with those carrying valuable items surrounded by warships. As a verb, convoy describes the act of traveling together, like when your family and other families convoy to a camp ground, driving in a group, making stops together, and waving to each other on the highway.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

convoy convoys convoyed convoying

Oil tankers leave the strait in a convoy under U.S. military protection, usually at night.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

"Every weapon carried, every tunnel still worked and every convoy still obstructed sets the process back and hands an argument to those who want to resume war," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

"Every weapon carried, every tunnel still worked on, and every convoy still obstructed sets the process back and hands an argument to those who want to resume war," he added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

It also accused the convoy of deviating from the route co-ordinated with the military.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

A convoy of three-ton lorries went by, heading south, out of town.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Generally speaking, however, tanker convoys, escorted by air and sea by the U.S. military, do the perilous transit through the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Then, in safer waters, national or third-party vessels await for ship-to-ship transfers from the convoys to then sail to the buyer’s final destinations.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

The strikes mean Russia has been forced to shorten convoys on supply routes as a "quick coping mechanism to reduce potential damage", Cristian Vlas at conflict monitoring group Acled told BBC Verify.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

The trucking convoys are the latest example of ways the global economy has shown surprising resilience in the face of war-related shocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

But at dawn, more convoys of trucks filled with soldiers came roaring past on their way back into the city, motorcycle outriders waving us frantically to one side.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

The pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were conveyed and convoyed.

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2023

We convoyed over in shifts, along with other companies from their individual base camps around Mosul.

From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2018

We were 142 people that convoyed together, at minimum one mission a day/night.

From Newsweek ● Mar. 1, 2015

Attending class next day, Sophomores Holmes and Hunter got a friendly welcome from every teacher, were convoyed by solicitous students and officials.

From Time Magazine Archive

On November 17, 1926, when White was still settling into the new job, two new inmates were convoyed up the prison’s horseshoe driveway by U.S. marshals.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

“If something didn’t send an alarm signal that we needed to have serious assets or protection and convoying of our vessels in that area then I want to know why not.”

From The Guardian ● Jul. 21, 2019

By the time I reached San Clemente, there were four of us convoying at about 20 mph on the 5 to Oceanside.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2018

Dr Labrosse said the main application would be for convoying, where a series of automated vehicles are led by a human driver or a smarter robot at the front.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2015

Morris Gest, when convoying an attraction on tour revels in such rows in the newspapers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ducasse, who was convoying a fleet of Spanish galleons, succeeded in getting them out of the harbor without being observed and got them safely to Havana.

From The Colonization of North America 1492-1783 by Herbert Eugene Bolton