armada

noun ar·ma·da \ är-ˈmä-də , -ˈmā- also -ˈma- \

|Updated on: 13 Aug 2018

Examples: armada in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of armada

1 : a fleet of warships

2 : a large force or group usually of moving things

See armada defined for English-language learners

See armada defined for kids

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

The one constant during that time has been the armada of support from the stands, and fans like Cignetti, who traveled from Córdoba.

— tariq panja, New York Times, "Croatia Buries Argentina’s World Cup Hopes in a Deep Hole," 22 June 2018
Yet keeping the Spanish armada at bay to claim the point that would boost hopes of qualifying for the last 16 looks a tall order.

— justin davis, chicagotribune.com, "Spain face World Cup date with destiny against Iran," 19 June 2018
Potomac Watch Podcast On cue came the armada blaming budget cuts.

— the editorial board, WSJ, "About That IRS Computer Crash," 18 Apr. 2018
Our mission on this day would be very different — just a small armada of eight kayaks ferrying paddlers intent on exploring the bay’s palm-fringed shore.

— New York Times, "Want to See the Wild Side of Cuba? Try a Kayak," 16 May 2018
The History of White People,’’ with a small armada of titles and honorifics under her belt, studied art as an undergraduate (and painted and drew essentially her entire life).

— kathleen hirsch, BostonGlobe.com, "A portrait of the artist as an older woman," 29 June 2018
The festivities included a dinner in an old colonial house with each table named for a ship in that eighteenth-century armada, and a fifties-themed party in the Riviera Hotel.

— hamish bowles, Vogue, "A Tour Of Havana’s Museums and Architecture Reveals The City’s Hidden History," 20 Apr. 2018
Todd Pletcher, who seems to get an armada of expensive Thoroughbreds in his barn each year and wins big races with them coast-to-coast, comes with four top contenders.

— dan wolken, USA TODAY, "Three big storylines heading into Kentucky Derby week," 29 Apr. 2018
To counter this armada, the U.S. had only Callaghan’s task force, with two heavy cruisers, three light cruisers and eight destroyers.

— gary kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, "In World War II, San Francisco’s namesake ship was a Navy hero," 25 May 2018

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.