Sloop-of-war

1. In the 18th and 19th centuries, a small sailing warship carried 18 or fewer guns with a single continuous gundeck.
2. In the 18th and 19th centuries, any sailing warship bearing fewer than 20 guns.
3. In the 19th-century US Navy, the term was used for the type of sailing warship known in other navies as a corvette.
4. In the early and mid-20th century, a small oceangoing warship not intended for fleet deployments, and used instead for convoy escort, gunboat duties, etc.