armada

noun

ar·​ma·​da är-ˈmä-də  -ˈmā- 

 also  -ˈma-

1

: a fleet of warships

2

: a large force or group usually of moving things

Did you know?

A Spanish word that originally meant simply "armed", armada is now used in Spanish-speaking nations as the name of their national navies. In English, the word usually has historical overtones. The Great Armada of 1588 was a 120-ship fleet sent by Philip II of Spain in an attempt to invade Elizabethan England; it was defeated when British forces lit eight ships afire and sent them sailing into the Armada's midst, then blocked the passage to the south so that the remaining ships were forced to sail northward around Britain in order to return home, causing dozens more ships to be wrecked in the stormy northern seas. Today we sometimes use the word humorously for fleets of fishing boats, rowboats, or canoes.

Synonyms

• caravan
• cavalcade
• fleet
• line
• motorcade
• train

Examples of armada in a Sentence

an armada of fishing boats

an armada of ships sailing up the coast

Recent Examples on the Web

The air armada would also need dedicated fighter aircraft like the F-35, and electronic-warfare jets as well. —James Stavridis, The Mercury News, 8 Oct. 2024

Instead, Soviet intelligence picked up evidence that U.S. officials were preparing reporters to join an armada that would strike Cuba and that the United States had raised the alert status of its strategic weapons. —Timothy Naftali, Foreign Affairs, 16 Nov. 2022

Eventually, Musk wants to build an armada of 1,000 ships to set up a colony on the Red Planet, which will require no less than 10 launches per day to assemble and fuel the fleet. —David Szondy, New Atlas, 8 Sep. 2024

In the 1550s in Malta, a waterspout plowed through the harbor of Valletta, reportedly destroying an armada of warships and killing hundreds of people. —Alec Luhn, WIRED, 21 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Spanish, "military force, fleet of warships," from armar "to arm, equip" (going back to Latin armāre) + -ada, suffix of action or result (going back to Vulgar Latin *-āta, noun derivative from feminine of Latin -ātus, past participle ending of Latin first-conjugation verbs) — more at arm entry 2

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

armada

noun

ar·​ma·​da är-ˈmäd-ə  -ˈmād- 

1

: a large fleet of warships

2

: a large force or group of usually moving things

an armada of fishing boats

Etymology

from Spanish armada "fleet," derived from Latin arma "weapons"