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

One was banished for falling in love with a Spanish explorer, another stood up against the Spanish conquistadors, while the third’s tears filled Lake Zirahuén. —Eric Adler august 17, Kansas City Star, 17 Aug. 2025

The town was home to conquistadores who, having returned here with riches from South America, built elaborate palaces dotted around a grand square. —Fiona Govan, CNN Money, 10 July 2025

Ha-Kohen omitted references to the Americas as Spanish territory and criticized the conquistadors for their brutality toward Indigenous peoples. —Flora Cassen, The Conversation, 27 June 2025

Over the centuries, Spanish conquistadors brought horses whose descendants now roam wild; the pirate Blackbeard fought his final sea battle near Ocracoke Island in the south; and the Wright Brothers took their first successful flight. —Kate Lewis, New York Times, 19 June 2025

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"