corvette
Americannoun
-
a warship of the old sailing class, having a flush deck and usually one tier of guns.
-
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
Compare meaning
How does corvette compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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:
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
Two weeks later, HMS Somerset was used to complete a three-day mission watching RFN Boikiy as the corvette escorted a merchant vessel on its voyage.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 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
Before it could be lowered, however, the corvette herself was hailed by a boat from the Tigress.
From The Noank's Log A Privateer of the Revolution by Stoddard, W. O.
In total, Iran’s navy has lost six of its seven frigates, its two corvettes and one of three ocean-going conventional submarines, said Alex Pape, head of the maritime team at Janes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
Its maritime arm dispatched frigates and corvettes to patrol the coastal waters with little event.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2024
Soon the two corvettes were docked at Ream - and either they, or identical replacements, have stayed there for most of this year.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2024
For many years, Israel’s three Sa’ar 5 corvettes were its largest warships, about the size of frigates.
From Salon ● May 19, 2024
The corvettes had traversed twelve or fifteen miles for nothing, when an officer, perched in the shrouds, sighted a passage in the E.N.E.
From Celebrated Travels and Travellers Part III. The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century by D'Anvers, N.
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.
