Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • Balboa
    Balboa
    noun
    Vasco Núñez de 1475?–1517, Spanish adventurer and explorer who discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513.
  • balboa
    balboa
    noun
    the standard currency unit of Panama, divided into 100 centesimos

Balboa

American  
[bal-boh-uh, bahl-baw-ah] / bælˈboʊ ə, bɑlˈbɔ ɑ /

noun

  1. Vasco Núñez de 1475?–1517, Spanish adventurer and explorer who discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513.

  2. a seaport in Panama at the Pacific terminus of the Panama Canal.

  3. balboa, a silver coin and monetary unit of Panama, equal to 100 centesimos.


Balboa 1 British  
/ balˈβoa, bælˈbəʊə /

noun

  1. Vasco Núñez de (ˈbasko ˈnuɲeθ de). ?1475–1519, Spanish explorer, who discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Balboa 2 British  
/ bælˈbəʊə, balˈβoa /

noun

  1. a port in Panama at the Pacific end of the Panama Canal: the administrative centre of the former Canal Zone. Pop: 2750 (1990)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

balboa 3 British  
/ bælˈbəʊə /

noun

  1. the standard currency unit of Panama, divided into 100 centesimos

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of balboa

named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa


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:

But the streets along the Balboa Peninsula were dry Sunday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Posting on its account on X, the City of Newport Beach advised people to "avoid the Balboa Peninsula due to street flooding caused by recent storm conditions and elevated tides".

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Sandbags lined dozens of homes and businesses near Balboa Boulevard on Saturday morning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

That time came when he was shopping around his screenplay about an underdog boxer, Rocky Balboa, who through sheer, immiserating grit enters the ring against the champion fighter Apollo Creed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

He jogged around like Rocky Balboa and gave his siblings high fives.

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

Many currencies, from the Hong Kong dollar to the Panama balboa, are pegged against the dollar for similar reasons.

From Reuters ● May 25, 2023

Plus I am interested in that era – I like jazz, and dance swing and balboa.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 16, 2017

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training