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Recent Examples of corsairIn 1544, Barbarossa, a corsair who had risen to become admiral of the Ottoman navy, raided the island and carried away into slavery almost a thousand inhabitants—practically the island’s entire population.—Lee Marshall, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2025 Freed from a Mediterranean Sea crowded with Ottoman fleets and North African corsairs, the Atlantic upstarts unleashed themselves on the world’s oceans.—Jeremy Adelman, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2015 But the stealthy corsair, evading her pursuer, slipped to safety in Tripoli’s shallow harbor—and then, suddenly, disaster struck the Philadelphia.—Mark G. Spencer, WSJ, 31 Jan. 2023 Queen of the seas, Britain seemed to countenance the pirating activities of the North African corsairs.—Thomas Wendel, National Review, 4 July 2019 From ancient Norse princess Alfhild to Sayyida al-Hurra of the Barbary corsairs, these women sailed beside–and sometimes in command of–male pirates.—Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, 12 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corsair
pirate
Noun
The show will happen in a 60,000 square foot arena with Crimson and Sapphire pirates battling on deck, in the water, and in the sky above full-sized pirate ships.
—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
2 May 2025
However, for years, they were believed to be pirate ships, the museum said in a news release.
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