corvette
Americannoun
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a warship of the old sailing class, having a flush deck and usually one tier of guns.
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a lightly armed, fast ship used mostly for convoy escort and ranging in size between a destroyer and a gunboat.
noun
Etymology
Origin of corvette
1630–40; < French, Middle French < Middle Dutch corver pursuit boat (derivative of corf fishing boat, literally, basket), with suffix altered to -ette -ette
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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.
The two projectiles hit the target, a retired Philippines navy corvette, around 75 kilometres offshore in the South China Sea, causing it to sink, officials said.
From Barron's • May 7, 2026
The Israeli navy, for example, already operates the Sa’ra 6-class corvette, based on the German Braunschweig-class ship, which could be adapted for the project, Clark said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
The Boikiy - a corvette armed with guided missiles - broadcast the fake ID code as it passed through the Channel on Saturday.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2025
Admiral Tributs and Admiral Panteleyev, two large Russian anti-submarine ships, conducted exercises with a frigate and a corvette of Myanmar's navy, according to Interfax news agency last week.
From Reuters • Nov. 13, 2023
This story is told of a French corvette which was cruising in these latitudes at the time when the buccaneers were creating such havoc with legitimate commerce in the West Indies.
From Equatorial America Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes, and the Principal Capitals of South America by Ballou, Maturin Murray
Definitions 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.
