privateer
To function under official sanction permitting attacks on enemy shipping and seizing…To function under official sanction permitting attacks on enemy shipping and seizing ship and cargo; to engage in government-sponsored piracy.
Meaning
2 sensesTo function under official sanction permitting attacks on enemy shipping and seizing ship and cargo; to engage in government-sponsored piracy.
To advocate or benefit from privatization of government services.
Origin
From private + -eer probably after volunteer, shortened from the original term "private maFrom private + -eer probably after volunteer, shortened from the original term "private man-of-war".
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
privateers, privateering, privateered, privateeredregular · Lesson
| Base form | privateer · to privateer |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | privateers |
| Present participle | privateering |
| Past simple | privateered |
| Past participle | privateered |
Tenses
privateer · privateered · will privateer · have privateeredPoint at a form to see it in a sentence.Tap a form to see it in a sentence.
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.