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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine's unmanned systems, said on Telegram that the corvette Boikiy was struck.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
China and Iran deployed destroyer warships, while Russia and the United Arab Emirates sent corvette vessels.
From Barron's • Jan. 10, 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
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
One report stated that an English frigate had put into Cadiz badly cut up by an American corvette, which had sunk in the night time, and so suddenly, that her name could not be ascertained.
From The Second War with England, Vol. 2 of 2 by Headley, Joel Tyler
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.
