corvette
Americannoun
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a warship of the old sailing class, having a flush deck and usually one tier of guns.
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a lightly armed, fast ship used mostly for convoy escort and ranging in size between a destroyer and a gunboat.
noun
Etymology
Origin of corvette
1630–40; < French, Middle French < Middle Dutch corver pursuit boat (derivative of corf fishing boat, literally, basket), with suffix altered to -ette -ette
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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.
China and Iran deployed destroyer warships, while Russia and the United Arab Emirates sent corvette vessels.
From Barron's • Jan. 10, 2026
The Israeli navy, for example, already operates the Sa’ra 6-class corvette, based on the German Braunschweig-class ship, which could be adapted for the project, Clark said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
Two weeks later, HMS Somerset was used to complete a three-day mission watching RFN Boikiy as the corvette escorted a merchant vessel on its voyage.
From BBC • Mar. 19, 2025
Admiral Tributs and Admiral Panteleyev, two large Russian anti-submarine ships, conducted exercises with a frigate and a corvette of Myanmar's navy, according to Interfax news agency last week.
From Reuters • Nov. 13, 2023
Erig� au nom de la France, par les soins de M. M. de Bougainville et Ducampier commandant la Fregatte "La Th�tis" et la corvette "Esp�rance" en rel�che au port Jackson en 1825.
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.
