flotilla
Americannoun
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flotillas
plural
-
a group of small naval vessels, especially a naval unit containing two or more squadrons.
-
a group moving together.
The governor was followed by a whole flotilla of reporters.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of flotilla
1705–15; < Spanish, diminutive of flota fleet < French flotte < Old English flota
Explanation
If you see a boy launch a flotilla of handmade sailboats on the far side of a pond, chances are his fleet of ships won't make it to your side of the pond. Flotilla is from the Spanish word flota, which means fleet. The word looks like the Spanish word tortilla but is not pronounced at all the same way, even though they are both from the same language. Flotilla is pronounced like the word "float" and the "-ill" part of the word "hill," then with "uh" on the end of the word.
Vocabulary lists containing flotilla
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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:
Costumed participants danced and waved from a colourful flotilla of 80 decorated vessels as they made their way through the city's waterways.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
The remains of a sunken Hungarian cargo ship resurfaced in Croatia, while the hulks of a German river flotilla was seen in Serbia.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
I instead recall coasting past a flotilla of icebergs in Alaska’s Glacier Bay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
There was no warning from the Iranian navy to the ships on radio or telling them to turn back, according to the seafarers in the flotilla.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Navy destroyer and two coast guard cutters had taken up positions among the usual flotilla of yachts, sailboats, launches, dinghies, and canoes assembling near the finish line.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
This battle between Team USA and Europe at Bethpage Black is also a proxy war between rival flotillas of wonks and analysts who advise both teams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2025
Aside from government jobs, fishing is the only viable way to make a living, and since the arrival of the Chinese flotillas even that has become difficult.
From BBC ● May 20, 2025
There are no bald billionaires in super yachts or reality TV stars in flotillas of private jets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
A joint command center with officials from all four parties will be set up immediately in Istanbul to monitor every movement of the flotillas.
From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2022
"I shall want charts of the minefields," he said, "and full particulars as to patrol flotillas and the like."
From John Dene of Toronto A Comedy of Whitehall by Herbert George Jenkins
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.
