flotilla
Americannoun
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a group of small naval vessels, especially a naval unit containing two or more squadrons.
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a group moving together.
The governor was followed by a whole flotilla of reporters.
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Etymology
Origin of flotilla
1705–15; < Spanish, diminutive of flota fleet < French flotte < Old English flota
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The U.S.’s most advanced aircraft carrier is in the region, along with a flotilla of warships and a force of Marines.
Armed agents have sauntered through downtown and manned a flotilla of boats on the Chicago River.
From Los Angeles Times
The country is not facing flotillas of small boats arriving from the North Sea or the Baltic.
From BBC
A flotilla of uncrewed "wolf pack" drone boats has successfully been used to escort warships in a Royal Navy and Army trial.
From BBC
Israel has released the five remaining Spanish detainees from flotillas it blocked while they were carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists to devastated Gaza, sources at Spain's foreign ministry said on Sunday.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
