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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
CBS News, 17 Sep. 2024
Its maritime arm dispatched frigates and corvettes to patrol the coastal waters with little event.
—Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2024
Curious Cubans waited in line to visit the frigate, which was also toured by Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel and CNN.
—Michael Wilner, Miami Herald, 19 June 2024
The original Sahand was a British Alvand-class frigate.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 10 July 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Frigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frigate. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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frigate
noun
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