corvette

[ kawr-vet ]

noun

1. a warship of the old sailing class, having a flush deck and usually one tier of guns.
2. a lightly armed, fast ship used mostly for convoy escort and ranging in size between a destroyer and a gunboat.

corvette

/ kɔːˈvɛt /

noun

1. a lightly armed escort warship

Word History and Origins

Origin of corvette¹

1630–40; < French, Middle French < Middle Dutch corver pursuit boat (derivative of corf fishing boat, literally, basket), with suffix altered to -ette -ette

Word History and Origins

Origin of corvette¹

C17: from Old French, perhaps from Middle Dutch corf basket, small ship, from Latin corbis basket

Example Sentences

Its maritime arm dispatched frigates and corvettes to patrol the coastal waters with little event.

From Los Angeles Times

The shapes are type A56 corvettes of the Chinese navy - 1,500-tonne warships - and they have been berthed alongside a new, Chinese-built pier that is big enough to accommodate much larger vessels.

From BBC

For many years, Israel’s three Sa’ar 5 corvettes were its largest warships, about the size of frigates.

From Salon

One drone sped so close to its target, they said, that when bullets struck the 500-pound warhead it was carrying, the explosion breached the hull of the Russian corvette patrol ship, the Sergey Kotov.

From New York Times

At least two warships could be seen in the photos, one whose gangway identified it as the Chinese navy corvette Wenshan.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• battleship
• cutter
• destroyer
• frigate
• gunboat
• submarine