flotilla
Americannoun
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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
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.
The first of hundreds of Gaza flotilla activists began arriving at Istanbul airport Thursday after being arrested then deported from Israel, an AFP correspondent said.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
On Thursday, Italian politician Dario Carotenuto and journalist Alessandro Mantovani, who were part of the flotilla, were pictured arriving at Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, after first being flown to Athens.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
The legal centre representing the flotilla members said earlier on Thursday that the majority were "en route for deportation" from Ramon Airport in Israel's far south.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
"The detention of the flotilla activists in international waters had already represented a serious affront to international law," he wrote on X on Tuesday.
From BBC • May 5, 2026
With Nixonian cunning, Calliope unwrapped and flushed away a flotilla of unused Tampax.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
