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
Jeremy Borrelli, a staff archaeologist for ECU's maritime studies program, told Fox News Digital the team recovered 63 wooden shipwreck timbers – 47 of which are believed to be part of La Fortuna, a Spanish privateer ship from Cuba.
—
Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2025
But it was captured by a British privateer and departed for Jamaica, crammed with 442 enslaved people.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Less savory characters soon saw the city's strategic value, too, with notorious privateers and pirates like Captain Henry Morgan and Calico Jack setting up shop in Port Royal.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 2 Aug. 2025
Although the passengers managed to swim or be hauled on ropes to shore, much of the ship’s cargo—which included tea, brandy, nails, iron, and Wright’s paintings—was lost, washed out of the ship’s hold and either plundered by a passing privateer and people living nearby or sunk below the waves.
—Literary Hub, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for privateer
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Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2025
But it was captured by a British privateer and departed for Jamaica, crammed with 442 enslaved people.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Less savory characters soon saw the city's strategic value, too, with notorious privateers and pirates like Captain Henry Morgan and Calico Jack setting up shop in Port Royal.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 2 Aug. 2025
Although the passengers managed to swim or be hauled on ropes to shore, much of the ship’s cargo—which included tea, brandy, nails, iron, and Wright’s paintings—was lost, washed out of the ship’s hold and either plundered by a passing privateer and people living nearby or sunk below the waves.
—Literary Hub, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for privateer
Cite this Entry
“Privateer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privateer. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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