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

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

Scenes on Spanish galleons and Aztec pyramids unfold amid a pulsating beat of rock, pop and flamenco riffs. —Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 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