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corvette

American  
[kawr-vet] / kɔrˈvɛt /
Also corvet

noun

  1. a warship of the old sailing class, having a flush deck and usually one tier of guns.

  2. a lightly armed, fast ship used mostly for convoy escort and ranging in size between a destroyer and a gunboat.

corvette British  
/ kɔːˈvɛt /

noun

  1. a lightly armed escort warship

"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

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.

AFP journalists near the Simon's Town base saw the Russian-flagged corvette vessel pull into False Bay.

From Barron's • Jan. 9, 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

In 1939, a Royal Navy corvette due to be named HMS Pansy became HMS Heartsease just before it was launched.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2025

At least two warships could be seen in the photos, one whose gangway identified it as the Chinese navy corvette Wenshan.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2023

The corvette Caroline was able to keep the prescribed distance from the Novara only by the latter reefing some of her sails.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von

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.