convoy
Americanverb (used with object)
-
convoys,
present (3rd person singular)
-
convoyed,
past participle, past
-
convoying
present participle
noun
-
convoys
plural
-
the act of convoying.
-
the protection provided by an escort.
-
a ship, fleet, group of vehicles, etc., accompanied by a protecting escort.
-
an armed force, warship, etc., that escorts, especially for protection.
-
any group of military vehicles traveling together under the same orders.
-
Citizens Band Radio Slang. two or more CB-equipped vehicles traveling together.
noun
-
a group of merchant ships with an escort of warships
-
a group of land vehicles assembled to travel together
-
the act of travelling or escorting by convoy (esp in the phrase in convoy )
verb
Synonym Usage
See accompany.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
convoysimple
-
convoyssimple
-
have convoyedperfect
-
has convoyedperfect
-
am convoyingprogressive
-
are convoyingprogressive
-
is convoyingprogressive
-
have been convoyingperfect progressive
-
has been convoyingperfect progressive
Past
-
convoyedsimple
-
had convoyedperfect
-
was convoyingprogressive
-
were convoyingprogressive
-
had been convoyingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing convoy
Tangerine
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Stargirl
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
World War I
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A convoy of about a dozen vans started the operation shortly after 08:00 BST, with roads temporarily blocked by patrol cars.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
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 surprised him not to see anyone there for the convoy, but he thought maybe they used a different entrance or maybe they were all inside already.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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
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
Although blockades at fuel depots and Ireland's only oil refinery have been lifted, slow-moving convoys of large vehicles continued on motorways around Dublin on Monday morning.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
Last week's protests grew from slow-moving convoys on motorways and restricted access to Dublin's busiest streets, to a part blockade of Ireland's only oil refinery and restricted access to at least two other fuel depots.
From Barron's ● Apr. 12, 2026
One cold, overcast day in January 1989, three months before Laila turned eleven, she, her parents, and Hasina went to watch one of the last Soviet convoys exit the city.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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
She convoyed North Atlantic freighters, made the "suicide run" to Murmansk and back, turned up smartly for the North African invasion and sank a bothersome Vichyfrench cruiser there.
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
A hard-bitten nurse, busy convoying wounded soldiers, discovers even to her own surprise that she has a warm heart.
From Time Magazine Archive
As they accomplished this, Attilio appeared with Muzio, convoying the reluctant jailer and his bunch of keys between them.
From Rule of the Monk or, Rome in the Nineteenth Century by Giuseppe Garibaldi
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
