privateer
noun
an armed ship that is privately owned and manned, commissioned by a government to fight or harass enemy ships.
was privateering
-
past progressiveof privateer.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
While establishing themselves in this island and strengthening its half-ruined defenses, the most profitable employment of the Knights was privateering, or, more correctly, active piracy.
From The Story of Malta by Maturin Murray Ballou
