frigate

American  

[frig-it] / ˈfrɪg ɪt /

noun

frigates plural

1. a fast naval vessel of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, generally having a lofty ship rig and heavily armed on one or two decks.

2. any of various types of modern naval vessels ranging in size from a destroyer escort to a cruiser, frequently armed with guided missiles and used for aircraft carrier escort duty, shore bombardment, and miscellaneous combat functions.

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frigate British  

/ ˈfrɪɡɪt /

noun

1. a medium-sized square-rigged warship of the 18th and 19th centuries

2. 1. a warship larger than a corvette and smaller than a destroyer

   2. (formerly) a warship larger than a destroyer and smaller than a cruiser

   3. a small escort vessel

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• frigates
  plural

Etymology

Origin of frigate

1575–85; < Middle French frégate < Italian fregata, Sicilian fragata (> Spanish, Catalan, Pg); of obscure origin

Compare meaning

How does frigate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• frigate vs. destroyer
• frigate vs. corvette

Explanation

A frigate is a large boat that's used by a military during wartime. If you join the Navy, you may be assigned to work on a frigate. Ahoy! The word frigate has been used for a variety of seagoing vessels ever since the late 15th century. Over time, it's generally referred to larger and larger boats — the original frigates had oars and sails. One thing most frigates have had in common is maneuverability, or the ability to move with speed and agility. Today's frigate often carries a guided missile launcher.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frigate frigates

Upon sailing into the harbor, they realized the frigate was too damaged to sail, so rather than leave it in enemy hands, they burned it to the waterline.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

A US frigate, the USS Fort Lauderdale, is currently positioned off the coast of La Guaira.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

The Mogami is a multi-mission frigate that can operate far from land with a minimal crew.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

The Mogami-class frigate, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, features a stealth design, advanced systems and a lean 90-person crew.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

On Christmas Day, 1696, a Portuguese relief force in the form of four ships, led by the heavily armed frigate the Santo Antonio de Tanna, arrived in the waters directly in front of the fort.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

The Americans weren’t exactly winning anyway, but Jefferson doubled-down and sent more war frigates.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

In the Royal Navy's case, it gets to keep the frigates, which will be updated with new versions in the pipeline.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

The multi-billion-euro project to build six new-generation frigates, set to be the biggest in the German navy, was being abandoned in favour of purchasing eight smaller warships, the defence ministry said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026

Der Spiegel magazine and the Financial Times reported the German government is dropping a plan to build six F126 frigates, in what would have been the biggest project in the history of the country’s navy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

They turned over a dozen frigates, well armed and fully manned—a dozen frigates!”

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

Related Words

• sailboat
• ship
• vessel
• warship