Columbus, Christopher

Cultural

An Italian explorer responsible for the European discovery of America in 1492. He had sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain, under the patronage of the king and queen, Ferdinand and Isabella, hoping to find a westward route to India. His ships were the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Columbus made four voyages to the New World, visiting the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad, Venezuela, and the coast of Central America.

Example Sentences

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None of us ever met Christopher Columbus or Ferdinand Magellan or Vasco da Gama, the great explorers of history, but for more than 50 years astronauts have walked among us.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

Celebrated annually on the second Monday of October, Columbus Day is a federal holiday that honors the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus.

From Barron's • Oct. 13, 2025

In 1492, when Christopher Columbus “discovered America,” civilizations had been thriving on this land for millennia.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 19, 2025

Some claim Christopher Columbus learned of cacao beans on his fourth voyage to the Americas and brought them back to Spain in 1502.

From Salon • Feb. 17, 2025

Then one day as I was flipping through a history book, I came across a brief section on Christopher Columbus and the discovery of the New World.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023