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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
Brian Glyn Williams, The Conversation, 19 July 2024
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the frigate on Saturday and interacted with the sailors, according to a post by the president on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
—CBS News, 17 June 2024
In addition to the Moskva, Ukrainian missiles and drones have destroyed or severely damaged two frigates, five tank landing ships, and a submarine.
—Mark Cancian, Foreign Affairs, 8 Feb. 2024
The Psara, Greece's 3,350-ton Hydra-class frigate, repelled two Houthi drones Sunday while escorting a cargo ship through the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast, the Dutch Defense Ministry said.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 9 July 2024
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“Frigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frigate. Accessed 12 Sep. 2024.
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frigate
noun
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