(historical) A privately owned warship that acted under a letter of marque to attack enemy merchant ships and take possession of their cargo.
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.
No comments yet — say something.
(historical) An officer or any other member of the crew of such a ship; a government-sanctioned pirate.
Privateers, such as Osborne and Gaebler, promise that good competition will not become bad — will not become cutthroat competition — if good competition is "carefully structured and managed;"
No comments yet — say something.
An advocate or beneficiary of privatization of a government service or activity.
For example, when water workers leader Abelardo de Oliveira Filho says, investigations initiated by PSI in carrying out the mandate their members gave them to resist the privatization of water, to look into how the privateers worked
No comments yet — say something.
Add your own interpretation of "privateer".
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.