Also called Invincible Armada. Also called 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.
1525–35; < Spanish < Latin armāta armed forces, neuter plural of armātus (past participle of armāre to equip with arms). See arm 2, -ate 1
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.
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The two companies are complementary in terms of geography, with Jasa Armada Indonesia in west Indonesia and Pelindo Marine Service across central-eastern Indonesia, which limits overlap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
The brokerage initiates coverage of Jasa Armada Indonesia with a buy rating and a target price of 420.00 Indonesian rupiah.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 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
The Barracuda, later renamed the Riptide, in 1995-96, the Breakers in 2001-02 and the Armada in 2005-09.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
From the north sailed in half the great Armada.
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
With Rhaenyra’s dragons on their side, the Velaryon armada should have the upper hand.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
Many are turning to the U.S., where an unusually large armada of tankers are headed to fill up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
He did not notice that the parking lot of the building next door, home to the Albuquerque School of Healing Arts, was full of Albuquerque city police cars, an armada of black-and-whites.
From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026
Sorrento said nothing as we surveyed the Sixer armada.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
