Illustration of galleon
: a heavy square-rigged sailing ship of the 15th to early 18th centuries used for war or commerce especially by the Spanish
Examples of galleon in a Sentence
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The San Salvador is a replica of explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s 16th-century Spanish galleon, the first European ship to reach what is now known as San Diego in 1542, according to the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
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San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2025
The wintry Atlantic roiling, frothing, glittering like a gigantic skin shaking itself, great galleon-clouds passing overhead, torn and tattered by the wind.
—Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
In my first go, my ancient Romans became the Spanish, who sent galleons to distant lands.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2025
The present day’s global aristocrats invade Miami for Art Week not by galleon under the power of sail, but by private jet under the power of fossil fuel.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 1 Dec. 2024
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San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2025
The wintry Atlantic roiling, frothing, glittering like a gigantic skin shaking itself, great galleon-clouds passing overhead, torn and tattered by the wind.
—Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
In my first go, my ancient Romans became the Spanish, who sent galleons to distant lands.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2025
The present day’s global aristocrats invade Miami for Art Week not by galleon under the power of sail, but by private jet under the power of fossil fuel.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 1 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for galleon
Cite this Entry
“Galleon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/galleon. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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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
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