noun
- pirates, especially those who operated in the Mediterranean Sea
Usage: historical
Examples
- The Barbary corsairs terrorized Mediterranean shipping for centuries.
- French corsairs attacked English merchant vessels during wartime.
- The corsairs operated from bases along the North African coast.
- Many corsairs were actually licensed privateers working for their governments.
- The novel featured brave sailors fighting against ruthless corsairs.
- Corsairs often captured ships and sold their crews into slavery.