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.
This week, the U.K. navy closely followed a Russian naval corvette and an oil tanker as the duo sailed through British waters toward the North Sea, according to the U.K.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
China and Iran deployed destroyer warships, while Russia and the United Arab Emirates sent corvette vessels.
From Barron's • Jan. 10, 2026
HMS Albans was also involved in a three-day operation to monitor the Russian Steregushchiy-class corvette Stoikiy earlier this month, the navy said.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 2025
That Karakurt-class corvette was being built at the port when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kerch and the shipyard in July 2020.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 6, 2023
Four boats were at the sides of the corvette, and into these went down the expectant boarders, for the crisis was at hand.
From The Noank's Log A Privateer of the Revolution by Stoddard, W. O.
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.
