Armada
noun
the fleet sent against England by Philip II of Spain in 1588. It was defeated by the English navy and later dispersed and wrecked by storms.
Armada
American
[ahr-mah-duh, -may-]
/ ɑrˈmɑ də, -ˈmeɪ- /
noun
-
Also called Invincible Armada, Spanish Armada. the fleet sent against England by Philip II of Spain in 1588. It was defeated by the English navy and later dispersed and wrecked by storms.
-
(lowercase) any fleet of warships.
-
(lowercase) a large group or force of vehicles, airplanes, etc..
an armada of transport trucks.
Armada
1
British
/ ɑːˈmɑːdə /
noun
armada
2
British
/ ɑːˈmɑːdə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of Armada
1525–35; < Spanish < Latin armāta armed forces, neuter plural of armātus (past participle of armāre to equip with arms). See arm 2, -ate 1
Explanation
If an armada is looking for you, that's not good news — it's a fleet of warships. Even though armada sounds a little old-fashioned, they still exist. In fact, some armadas look for pirates — another old-fashioned-sounding group that still exists. Though an armada is part of a navy, armada sounds similar to "army,", and it should: they both come ultimately from the same source, the Latin word armata, "armed." Armies and navies are two of the oldest branches of a military power, and an armada is a military fleet — another word for a group of boats or ships.
Vocabulary lists containing armada
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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.
See Examples For:
One of the thrills of that night in Falmouth was seeing our special guest, Andy Cato from Groove Armada, artfully weaving an array of tracks.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Affin Hwang maintains a neutral sector’s rating, pegging Dialog and Bumi Armada as top picks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Bumi Armada shares are 1.4% lower at 0.35 ringgit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Out in Plymouth city centre, work is continuing on getting the regeneration of Armada Way completed in time for its planned reopening in the summer.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
Half the Armada had begun to give chase to the great ship Revenge.
From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
An armada of monster-pirates, the Kakamora — think coconut-flavored Gremlins — are a hectic horde with nice textures when the camera holds on them for longer than two seconds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Even here in the relative safety of Annapolis, Maryland, an advancing armada of amped-up college kids overwhelms me.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
With Rhaenyra’s dragons on their side, the Velaryon armada should have the upper hand.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
The Imperium's armada confronted Pandemic Horde with full force in June 2025, aiming to seize its territory.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
There is quite an armada assembled here at the naval base.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
