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

---

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)

---

balboa ³ British  

/ bælˈbəʊə /

noun

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

---

Etymology

Origin of balboa

named after Vasco Núñez de _Balboa

Example Sentences

They lured me to the Balboa Cafe for dinner and wine.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026

Nevertheless, in January, the country's supreme court had declared as "unconstitutional" the contract which had allowed Hutchison to manage the ports of Balboa on the Pacific and Cristobal on the Atlantic since 1997.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

APM Terminals, a subsidiary of the Danish Maersk group, will operate the port of Balboa, and Terminal Investment Limited, owned by the logistics giant MSC, will operate the port of Cristobal.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

The high court said the terms under which CK Hutchison runs the ports of Balboa on the Pacific Coast and Cristobal on the Atlantic side were unconstitutional.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

The paints were left untouched, the resolve to visit Balboa gone.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik