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''frigate'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260320113731-00-⌔
frigate - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Noun
frigate (plural frigates)
- (nautical) Any of several types of warship:
- (historical) A sailing warship (of any size) built for speed and maneuverability; typically without raised upperworks, having a flush forecastle and tumblehome sides. [late 15th–mid-18th c.]
- (historical) A sailing warship with a single continuous gun deck, typically used for patrolling and blockading duties, but not considered large enough for the line of battle. [mid-18th–mid-19th c.]
- (historical) A warship combining sail and steam propulsion, typically of ironclad timber construction, supplementing and superseding sailing ships of the line at the beginning of the development of the ironclad battleship. [mid 19th–late 19th c.]
- (historical) An escort warship, smaller than a destroyer, introduced in World War 2 as an anti-submarine vessel. [mid 20th c.]
- A modern type of warship, equivalent in size or smaller than a destroyer, often focused on anti-submarine warfare, but sometimes general purpose. [from mid-20th c.]
- (fiction) A warship or space warship, inspired by one of the many historic varieties of frigate.
- ✤ * Frigates are light escort and scouting vessels. They often have extensive GARDIAN systems to provide anti-fighter screening for capital ships, and carry a squad of marines for security and groundside duty. Unlike larger vessels, frigates are able to land on planets.*1
- A frigatebird (Fregata spp.).
- ✤ These frigates are all so lazy, that they perch by day on the trees, at the edge of the sea, awaiting the other birds […]2
Etymology
From French frégate, from Italian fregata, of uncertain origin.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA: /ˈfɹɪɡ.ət/
- Audio (Southern England): 🔊
- Rhymes: -ɪɡət
Printed 2026-06-28.
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