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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.

Examples of armada in a Sentence

an armada of fishing boats an armada of ships sailing up the coast

Recent Examples on the Web Murphy, as usual, has an armada of other projects still in the works. — Jackson Mchenry, Vulture, "With a big Netflix deal and the power to green-light almost anything, Ryan Murphy has become the ultimate insider. And his work is suffering.," 4 Jan. 2021 Meltwater ponds formed on the surface of Larsen B, and water percolating down through the ice helped shatter the shelf into an armada of icebergs. — Sarah Gibbens, Environment, "Huge iceberg breaking up off South Georgia Island is still a threat," 28 Dec. 2020 Admiral Zheng’s first voyage, in 1405, was put to sea with an armada of more than 250 ships, of which more than 60 were treasure ships. — Daniel Yergin, The Atlantic, "The Ghosts Who Haunt the South China Sea," 15 Dec. 2020 After all, the shah relentlessly pursued nuclear capability, sought to dominate his neighborhood and hectored the U.S. to keep its armada out of the Persian Gulf. — Ray Takeyh, WSJ, "The Shah, the Mullahs and Iran’s Longstanding Nuclear Ambitions," 10 Dec. 2020 No other nation in the world could, or would, have been able to rescue one of its citizens 96 hours after being taken, by sending a commando team more than 3,000 miles supported by an air armada of specialized aircraft. — Richard A. Clarke, Star Tribune, "The Biden agenda: Old business," 25 Nov. 2020 An armada of as many as 500 golf carts gathered at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center to caravan to the nearby elections office, so folks could drop off ballots for Biden. — Tamara Lush, USA TODAY, "A senior warning sign for Trump: 'Go Biden' cry at sprawling Florida retirement community The Villages," 11 Oct. 2020 An armada of as many as 500 golf carts gathered at the Sea Breeze Recreation Center to caravan to the nearby elections office, so folks could drop off ballots for Biden. — Tamara Lush, USA TODAY, "A senior warning sign for Trump: 'Go Biden' cry at sprawling Florida retirement community The Villages," 11 Oct. 2020 More than 5 million people in the region voted early, leaving an armada of masked and gloved poll workers to greet a much smaller pool of the electorate. — Washington Post, "Few lines, no waits: So many voted early in D.C. area that Election Day so far has been a breeze," 3 Nov. 2020

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.