privateer

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Sir Francis Drake was an English privateer, sailing and seizing stuff on behalf of the queen.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2025

His father, Jan Jansen, a Dutch privateer, was captured by one of the Moorish states in 1618.

From New York Times • Dec. 3, 2019

The San Juan Bautista, a Spanish ship transporting enslaved Africans, was bound for Mexico when it was attacked by the White Lion and another privateer, the Treasurer, and forced to surrender its African prisoners.

From The Guardian • Aug. 14, 2019

Two years in privateer teams followed, in which he did enough to catch the eye of Enzo Ferrari, who drafted him into his team in 1963.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2017

As a youth, he claimed, he had served as a privateer, after which he was captured and enslaved by the Turks.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann