conquistador

American  

[kon-kwis-tuh-dawr, kong-, kawng-kees-tah-thawr] / kɒnˈkwɪs təˌdɔr, kɒŋ-, kɔŋˌkis tɑˈðɔr /

noun

conquistadors, plural conquistadores plural

1. one of the Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century.

---

conquistador British  

/ kɒnˈkwɪstəˌdɔː, konkistaˈðor /

noun

1. an adventurer or conqueror, esp one of the Spanish conquerors of the New World in the 16th century

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• conquistadors
  plural
• conquistadores
  plural

Etymology

Origin of conquistador

1540–50; < Spanish equivalent to conquist ( ar ) to conquer ( see conquest) + -ador -ator

Explanation

A conquistador is a person who is out to conquer new territory. A conquistador was the name given to the Fifteenth-to-Seventeenth century Spanish and Portugese soldiers who conquered much of the world, most famously the Central and Southern Americas. Not nice guys, but effective, and the term is still used today to describe certain people — ruthless business types, etc — who are brutally efficient at what they do. The most famous conquistador was the Spanish adventurer, Hernando Cortes, who subdued the mighty Aztec Empire of Mexico. The word comes, not surprisingly, from the Spanish verb conquistar, "to conquer."

Example Sentences

Jonathan Cake cuts a dashing figure as Willy’s brother Ben, who has grown in Willy’s imagination into a fabulous conquistador.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

A new take on the Dark Knight comic book hero that faces off against conquistador Hernán Cortés.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025

Sporting a conquistador moustache and thighs as thick as a gaucho's steak, the culture shock was severe when the Argentina wing arrived at Harlequins.

From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025

Others credit Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, who got a taste of chocolate after being served Xocolatl by Montezuma himself.

From Salon • Feb. 17, 2025

Las Casas, a conquistador who repented of his actions and became a priest, spent the second half of his long fife opposing European cruelty in the Americas.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann