galleon
Americannoun
-
galleons
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of galleon
1520–30; < Spanish galeón, augmentative of galea galley
Explanation
Though a galleon was a large ship with multiple decks, it was no cruise liner and probably didn’t offer round-the-clock buffets. A galleon refers to a type of sailboat used in the 15th to 18th centuries mostly for battles and carrying consumer goods. Galleons had big square sails rigged onto several masts. They were built and sailed by many Europeans, but they are most commonly associated with the Spanish. In fact, this word is derived from the Spanish word galeón, which means “armed merchant ship.”
Vocabulary lists containing galleon
The Cay
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"The Highwayman"
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A Long Way from Chicago
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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:
She was checking people in on the pier for a separate boat tour to Sazan on a replica galleon that advertises the opportunity to “be a pirate for a day.”
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
The galleon also brought a critical technical secret.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
A full-size replica of a Spanish galleon stares out into Manila Bay, the centrepiece of a museum that will transport visitors back to the 17th century, when conscripted Philippine mariners hastened the era of globalisation.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
Sunk in 1708, the galleon San José attained legendary status.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Then Grandma sailed like a galleon into the front room, striking us dumb.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
The galleons brought more than silver to the Philippines.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
An estimated 3 million wrecks litter the seafloor, ranging from Nazi gold ships and Spanish galleons to ordinary cargo ships.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2024
Look at the massive Seville cityscape here, by an unknown painter from around 1660, in which men of lighter and darker skin tones gossip and gallivant on the riverbank as galleons sail by.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2023
It is not like corporations deploy an armada of 17th century galleons to sail shipments of gold across the ocean.
From Slate ● Nov. 15, 2021
Spanish treasure galleons were soon sailing home loaded with riches from mines in Mexico and Peru.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
