privateer

noun

pri·​va·​teer ˌprī-və-ˈtir 

: an armed private ship licensed to attack enemy shipping

also : a sailor on such a ship

privateer intransitive verb

Examples of privateer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Dash was a privateer schooner that vanished in 1815 and soon entered local legend as a ghost ship. — Leanna Renee Hieber, Big Think, 2 Oct. 2025

These men were, respectively, a reformist prime minister, the founder of the police force, a naval explorer and a privateer. — Simon Constable, FOXNews.com, 22 Mar. 2026

Ross’ second husband, mariner Joseph Ashburn, served the Revolution as a privateer and died in an English prison. — Marla Miller, The Conversation, 23 Mar. 2026

Notifications and requests for parley must be unambiguously left by the cyber privateer so as to allow the right of parley to be exercised in a timely fashion. — Rick Bennett, Time, 17 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1641, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for privateer

• auctioneer
• bandelier
• belvedere
• bombardier
• brigadier
• buccaneer
• cavalier
• chandelier
• chanticleer
• chevalier
• commandeer
• disappear

Kids Definition

privateer

1 of 2 noun

pri·​va·​teer

ˌprī-və-ˈti(ə)r

1

: an armed private ship permitted by its government to make war on ships of an enemy country

2

: a sailor on a privateer

privateer

2 of 2 verb

: to cruise in or as a privateer