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

Soon came whispers about a Russian corvette being spotted at Balaclava Bay.

From The Daily Beast

And here he is singing “Little Red Corvette” to a class of eighth graders.

From The Daily Beast

Martinez is currently working on scoring a commercial for the 2014 Corvette.

From The Daily Beast

When I drive my Corvette I see the looks it gets from all the people that have children.

From The Daily Beast

In 1983, August Busch IV, then a 19-year-old student at the University of Arizona in 1983, crashed his Corvette.

From The Daily Beast

The corvette stood on the opposite tack until well abaft the beam.

From Project Gutenberg

He perceived that the corvette had hauled on board his tattered courses, and was standing ahead of them.

From Project Gutenberg

When Newton returned on deck, he found that the corvette had gradually edged down until nearly within point-blank range.

From Project Gutenberg

Her yards have a wide spread, and I am inclined to think that she is a frigate or a large corvette—certainly a French one.

From Project Gutenberg

The Spanish corvette San Fermin, which lay at anchor in the port, was thrown over the walls of the fortress.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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