galleon

American  

[gal-ee-uhn, gal-yuhn] / ˈgæl i ən, ˈgæl yən /

noun

1. a large sailing vessel of the 15th to the 17th centuries used as a fighting or merchant ship, square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast and generally lateen-rigged on one or two after masts.

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galleon British  

/ ˈɡælɪən /

noun

1. nautical a large sailing ship having three or more masts, lateen-rigged on the after masts and square-rigged on the foremast and mainmast, used as a warship or trader from the 15th to the 18th centuries

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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.”

Example Sentences

Sunk in 1708, the galleon San José attained legendary status.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

In 1708 the San José, a treasure-laden Spanish galleon, sunk off the coast of Colombia.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2025

The Colombian government has started exploring a sunk 18th Century Spanish galleon dubbed the “holy grail of shipwrecks”.

From BBC • May 26, 2024

The Nazarene statue is believed to have been brought from Mexico to Manila on a galleon in 1606 by Spanish missionaries.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 7, 2023

Only then, convinced that the story had not been some product of his father's imagination, did he wonder how the galleon had been able to get inland to that spot.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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