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 of the first outsiders to arrive in Amazonia was the conquistador Francisco de Orellana, who sailed to the New World from Spain in the 1520s and traveled from Quito to the Río Napo around 20 years later. —Stanley Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026

Hatuey, the Taíno chief who fought the Spanish conquistadores and is known as the Americas’ earliest revolutionary, was a caudillo. —Abraham Jiménez Enoa, The Dial, 9 Dec. 2025

Hidden from Spanish conquistadors for centuries and abandoned to the elements, the mysterious Incan construction of Machu Picchu spent many years as the stuff of local legend until 1911, when American explorer Hiram Bingham first laid eyes on the site—and decided to share its wonder with the world. —Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Dec. 2025

In a repeat of the blitzkriegs that won Mexico and Peru for Spain, the Iberian conquistadors march north to Beijing, in some scenarios aided by Japanese auxiliaries. —Big Think, 29 Oct. 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"