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privateer

American  
[prahy-vuh-teer] / ˌpraɪ vəˈtɪər /

noun

  1. an armed ship that is privately owned and manned, commissioned by a government to fight or harass enemy ships.

  2. privateersman.

verb (used without object)

  1. to cruise as a privateer.

privateer British  
/ ˌpraɪvəˈtɪə /

noun

  1. an armed, privately owned vessel commissioned for war service by a government

  2. Also called: privateersman.  a commander or member of the crew of a privateer

"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

verb

  1. a competitor, esp in motor racing, who is privately financed rather than sponsored by a manufacturer

  2. (intr) to serve as a privateer

"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 privateer

1640–50; private + -eer, modeled on volunteer

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.