conquistador

noun

con·​quis·​ta·​dor kän-ˈkē-stə-ˌdȯr 

kən-,

 also  -ˈkwi-,

-ˈki-

plural conquistadores (ˌ)kän-ˌkē-stə-ˈdȯr-ēz 

-ˈdȯr-ˌās,

kən-;

(ˌ)kän-ˌkwi-,

-ˌki-

or conquistadors

: one that conquers

specifically : a leader in the Spanish conquest of America and especially of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century

Examples of conquistador in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Founded by Spanish conquistadors under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in 1565, St. Augustine served as the capital of British East Florida until the Spanish regained control of the peninsula after the American Revolution in 1783. —Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025

The 15 Most Beautiful Places In Texas Hill Country, According To A Local History of Wimberley Established as a trading post by settlers in 1848, the area was previously home to Native Americans and later frequented by Spanish conquistadors who had taken up in nearby San Antonio. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 29 Mar. 2025

Archaeologists believe the Incan citadel was built in the 1420s and abandoned sometime in the mid 1500s, around the time Spanish conquistadors invaded the Inca Empire. —Hannah Edgar, ARTnews.com, 24 Feb. 2025

Image Centuries after the conquistadors, the German climber and scientist Adolph Schlagintweit was gripped by the same yen for peril. —Charles Curkin, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, ultimately from Latin conquirere — see conquer

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for conquistador

• forevermore
• hereinbefore
• kinetochore
• kwashiorkor
• abhor
• abor
• adore
• afore
• ardour
• ashore
• backdoor
• before

Kids Definition

conquistador

noun

con·​quis·​ta·​dor kȯŋ-ˈkēs-tə-ˌdȯ(ə)r 

kän-ˈk(w)is-,

kən-

plural conquistadores kȯŋ-ˌkēs-tə-ˈdȯr-ēz 

-ˈdȯr-ˌās;

-ˈdōr-;

kän-k(w)is-,

ˈkən-

or conquistadors

: a leader in the Spanish conquest of America in the 16th century

Etymology

Spanish, derived from Latin conquirere "to search for"