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

• fleet
• convoy

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 potential death knell for an armada of space discovery missions has been reverberating not just across NASA, but also throughout the U.S. universities that help conceive or design these flights. —Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025

Deep in the seething, fecund Amazon jungle, a seeker finds wisdom, beauty, exciting new recipes, and inexhaustible armadas of biting insects. —Olivia James, Outside Online, 24 Apr. 2025

The small armada competed in a regatta around buoys, practicing how to keep moving in light headwinds. —Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2025

Despite these pronouncements, Israel’s aerial armada appeared to strike Iran with near impunity. —Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025

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

Rhymes for armada

• entrada
• espada
• hamada
• jornada
• kannada
• posada
• quebrada
• ramada
• sagrada
• arthropoda
• intifada
• theravada

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"