Definition of "frigate"

(nautical) Any of several types of warship:

1. (historical) A sailing warship (of any size) built for speed and maneuverability; typically without raised upperworks, having a flush forecastle and tumblehome sides.

2. (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.

3. (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.

4. (historical) An escort warship, smaller than a destroyer, introduced in World War 2 as an anti-submarine vessel.

5. A modern type of warship, equivalent in size or smaller than a destroyer, often focused on anti-submarine warfare, but sometimes general purpose.  examples

(fiction) A warship or space warship, inspired by one of the many historic varieties of frigate.  quotations  examples

A frigatebird (Fregata spp.).  quotations  examples