A Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser
The term Cruiser designated a class of starship, encompassing a diverse range of roles. Quite often, the alternative term star cruiser was employed synonymously.
In addition to cruisers designed for space travel, maritime cruisers also existed.
Historically in naval contexts, this designation was assigned to some of the largest and most prevalent warships within a given fleet. However, alternative designations like Star Cruiser were also utilized, as seen in the navy of the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. It was common for ships designated with different names to be referred to as cruisers.
The use of "cruiser" to classify warships that ranked second only to battleships was present to some degree within the Trade Federation, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the Galactic Empire (where they were known as Star Cruisers). The Rebel Alliance frequently used the term "Star Cruiser" when describing its heaviest Mon Calamari warships, which functioned as either cruisers or battleships.
According to at least one classification system, cruisers could be further subdivided into three categories: light, medium, and heavy. Light cruisers, situated at the lower end of the cruiser spectrum, typically measured around 350–400 meters. These were sometimes considered interchangeable with frigates under the Anaxes War College System. Medium cruisers ranged from 400 to 500 meters, while heavy cruisers extended beyond 600 meters. The heavy cruiser category was also classified separately under the Anaxes War College System. The designation battle cruiser was also applied to some ships within these size ranges.
Given the existence of various ship classification systems, some employed the "cruiser" designation for smaller patrol vessels, such as the Guardian-class customs vessel.