privateer

For these reasons the first rush to privateering, although feverishly energetic, was of a somewhat extemporized character.
Sea Power in its Relations to the War of 1812|Alfred Thayer Mahan
On this condition I would give in my adhesion to the abolition of privateering.
Charles Sumner; His Complete Works, Volume VIII (of 20)|Charles Sumner
For the practice of privateering he cherished a feeling of intense abhorrence.
Benjamin Franklin; Self-Revealed, Volume I (of 2)|Wiliam Cabell Bruce
The periods when American privateering was important were those of the Revolution and the War of 1812.
American Merchant Ships and Sailors|Willis J. Abbot

See the Proposition about privateering, p. 67 of this volume.
The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Vol. IV (of 12)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for privateering

privateer

/ (ˌpraɪvəˈtɪə) /

noun

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

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

verb

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

(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