1. Plural of galleass; large, heavily armed sailing ships used in the 16th and 17th centuries, combining features of galleys and galleons.
Usage: historical; nautical; plural form

Examples

• The Spanish Armada included several galleasses among its fleet.
• Galleasses were designed to be more stable than galleys in rough seas.
• These hybrid vessels combined the speed of galleys with the cargo capacity of galleons.
• The galleasses proved effective in Mediterranean naval warfare during the Renaissance.