Privateer
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A privately owned warship that acted under a letter of marque to attack enemy merchant ships and take possession of their cargo. historical
- 2 a privately owned warship commissioned to prey on the commercial shipping or warships of an enemy nation wordnet
- 3 An officer or any other member of the crew of such a ship; a government-sanctioned pirate. historical
"Kidd soon threw off the character of a privateer and became a pirate."
- 4 an officer or crew member of a privateer wordnet
- 5 An advocate or beneficiary of privatization of a government service or activity.
"This is a major victory, not only for CUPW because it will deter profit-hungry privateers from taking work away from CUPW members, but also because it gives union protection to those employed by the privateers."
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- 6 A private individual entrant into a race or competition who does not have the backing of a large, professional team. Australia, Canada, US
- 7 A racing team that is not a subsidiary of a large conglomerate, or automotive or vehicle manufacturer.
- 1 To function under official sanction permitting attacks on enemy shipping and seizing ship and cargo; to engage in government-sponsored piracy.
- 2 To advocate or benefit from privatization of government services.
"The principle of collective bargaining has been a basic point of dispute; it infringes, as Perlman pointed out, the privileges associated with private ownership and management of property. […] These so-called charters were simply a license given to shady elements to privateer against the strong and growing unions."
Example
More examples"The privateer is a licensed, the pirate an unlicensed, plunderer; but plunder, not patriotism, being, as a rule, the motive of the former, it is not perhaps surprising that, failing legitimate prey, he has sometimes adopted, to a great extent, the tactics of the latter."
Etymology
From private + -eer probably after volunteer, shortened from the original term "Private Man-of-war".
Related phrases
More for "privateer"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.