galleon

noun

gal·​le·​on ˈga-lē-ən 

: a heavy square-rigged sailing ship of the 15th to early 18th centuries used for war or commerce especially by the Spanish

Illustration of galleon

Examples of galleon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The beverage’s roots go back to 1565, when the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade route began between Mexico and the Philippines, permanently altering both countries’ culinary trajectories. — Daniel Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2026

Arquiste’s best-selling Nanban, for instance, conjures the aroma of a 17th-century galleon laden with coffee, leather, and saffron, while L’Or de Louis evokes the atmosphere of an orangerie at Versailles. — April Long, Travel + Leisure, 7 Feb. 2026

Back in its heyday as Europe's biggest medieval shipyard, the Arsenale could churn out a galleon per day. — Julia Buckley, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Feb. 2026

Alas, as anyone who’s ever played a JRPG might expect of a journey aboard a massive flying galleon, the Sullys’ convoy is attacked in the sky, and their family is scattered into a small handful of different factions that spend the rest of the movie trying to reunite. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from Italian galeone, galione (later reinforced by Spanish galeón, probably borrowed from Italian), from galea galley + -one, augmentative suffix

First Known Use

1529, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

galleon

noun

gal·​le·​on ˈgal-ē-ən 

: a large sailing ship with square sails used from the 1400s to the 1700s especially by the Spanish