Definition of armada
1 : a fleet of warships
2 : a large force or group usually of moving things
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Examples of armada in a Sentence
an armada of fishing boats
an armada of ships sailing up the coast
Recent Examples of armada from the Web
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An armada of orca whales surface to breath near Lim Kiln State Park on San Juan Island.
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After all, a single, fast-moving boat in the lake side channel could have sent dozens of people toppling from the decks of the recreational armada anchored there.
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Months earlier, as governor of Virginia, Jefferson had abandoned the capital of Richmond, fleeing a 27-ship British armada carrying 1,600 troops up the James River, led by the traitor Benedict Arnold.
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Despite the grand pronouncement that an armada was steaming toward the East Sea to respond to the North Korean threat, the naval-strike team was in fact thousands of miles away from the peninsula and was heading the opposite direction.
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As for the armadas of private water tankers, Vishwanath actually sees a place for them in his vision of the future.
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Increasingly, China’s growing armada of distant-water fishing vessels is heading to the waters of West Africa, drawn by corruption and weak enforcement by local governments.
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The county’s armada, featuring many fresh-faced, record-setters, actually pushed the throttle.
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During the past three months, the international coalition, fielding a nine-country armada that includes Australian F-18s, British Typhoons, Italian C-27Js, and American F-16s, Raptors, and B-52s, has launched more than ten thousand munitions.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'armada.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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.
Origin and Etymology of armada
Spanish, from Medieval Latin armata army, fleet, from Latin, feminine of armatus, past participle of armare to arm, from arma
ARMADA Defined for English Language Learners
armada
playDefinition of armada for English Language Learners
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: a large group of ships, boats, etc.
ARMADA Defined for Kids
armada
playDefinition of armada for Students
: a large fleet of warships
Learn More about armada
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See words that rhyme with armada Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for armada Spanish Central: Translation of armada Nglish: Translation of armada for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about armada
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