galley

noun

gal·​ley ˈga-lē 

plural galleys

1

: a ship or boat propelled solely or chiefly by oars: such as

a

: a long low ship used for war and trading especially in the Mediterranean Sea from the Middle Ages to the 19th century

also : galleass

b

: a warship of classical antiquity compare bireme, trireme

c

: a large open boat (such as a gig) formerly used in England

2

: the kitchen and cooking apparatus especially of a ship or airplane

3

a

: an oblong tray to hold especially a single column of set type

b

: a proof of typeset matter especially in a single column before being made into pages

Illustration of galley

• galley 1a

Examples of galley in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead of the tailgate galley common on this style of all-terrain squaredrop, Imperial goes with a slide-out kitchen at the rear. —New Atlas, 23 June 2025

Photo : Media Hamptons for Corcoran The galley kitchen. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 11 June 2025

The design duo hired architect Lab Design Collaborative to gut outdated areas like the galley kitchen, open up closed-off spaces and maintain the integrity of the Moroccan-Mediterranean style as created by the gated community’s original architect. —Catherine Dunwoody, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025

Air Force One also contains two galleys that can provide 100 meals at one sitting, advanced multi-frequency radios for air-to-air, ground and satellite communications and state-of-the-art navigation, electronic and communications equipment. —Joey Garrison, USA Today, 15 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English galeie, galey, borrowed from Anglo-French galee, galeie (continental Old French galee, galie), borrowed (probably in part via Upper Italian dialects) from Middle Greek galéa, after galéa "the shark Galeorhinus galeus," probably re-formation of Greek galeós, a name for the same fish, of uncertain origin

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing galley

• galley-west

Rhymes for galley

• alley
• alli
• bally
• calli
• challis
• dally
• galli
• lally
• mallee
• mally
• rally
• salley

Kids Definition

galley

noun

gal·​ley ˈgal-ē 

plural galleys

1

: a large low ship of olden times moved by oars and sails

2

: the kitchen especially of a ship or airplane