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In the 17th–19th centuries, a frigate was a three-masted, fully rigged sailing ship, often carrying 30–40 guns in all. Smaller and faster than ships of the line (the principal vessels of naval warfare), frigates served as scouts or as escorts protecting merchant convoys; they also cruised the seas as merchant raiders themselves. In World War II, Britain revived the term frigate using it to describe escort ships equipped with sonar and depth charges, and used these ships to guard convoys from submarines. In the postwar decades, the frigate also adopted an antiaircraft role, adding radar and surface-to-air missiles. Modern frigates can sail at a speed of 30 knots and carry a crew of 200.
Examples of frigate in a Sentence
Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 25 June 2025
When Iran mined the strait in 1988, a mine crippled a U.S. Navy frigate, the Samuel B. Roberts.
—Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 24 June 2025
Princess Kate was appointed Sponsor of HMS Glasgow in June 2021 and the cutting-edge Type 26 anti-submarine frigate is designed to protect the U.K.'s nuclear deterrent and aircraft carriers.
—Janine Henni, People.com, 22 May 2025
The frigates feature advanced electronic warfare and sensor suites.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Frigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frigate. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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frigate
noun
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