HMS Enterprise was one of two Emerald-class light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. She was built by John Brown & Company, with the keel being laid down on 28 June 1918. She was launched on 23 December 1919, and commissioned on 7 April 1926. She was the 14th ship to serve with the Royal Navy to carry the name Enterprise, a name which is still used in the Royal Navy today.

The Emerald class or E class was a class of two light cruisers built for the Royal Navy. Following the Cavendish class, three ships of a new class were ordered in March 1918, towards the end of World War I, designed to emphasise high speed at the cost of other qualities, for use against rumoured new high-speed German cruisers – like the Brummer class – and particularly minelayers, in the North Sea. The third ship was cancelled in November 1918.