Magellan

American  

[muh-jel-uhn] / məˈdʒɛl ən /

noun

1. Ferdinand, c1480–1521, Portuguese navigator: discoverer of the Strait of Magellan 1520 and the Philippines 1521.

2. Strait of Magellan, Also Straits of Magellan a strait near the southern tip of South America between the mainland of Chile and Tierra del Fuego and other islands, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. 360 miles (580 kilometers) long.

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Magellan ¹ British  

/ məˈɡɛlən /

noun

1. a strait between the mainland of S South America and Tierra del Fuego, linking the S Pacific with the S Atlantic. Length: 600 km (370 miles). Width: up to 32 km (20 miles)

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Magellan ² British  

/ məˈɡɛlən /

noun

1. Ferdinand. Portuguese name Fernão de Magalhães. ?1480–1521, Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain. He commanded an expedition of five ships that set out to sail to the East Indies via the West. He discovered the Strait of Magellan (1520), crossed the Pacific, and reached the Philippines (1521), where he was killed by natives. One of his ships reached Spain (1522) and was therefore the first to circumnavigate the world

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Other Word Forms

• Magellanic adjective

Example Sentences

Stripping out certain one-time items—such as a $513 million impairment charge tied to the divestiture of its remaining Magellan Health businesses—Centene reported a loss of $1.19 a share.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

As new observatories such as the Giant Magellan Telescope prepare to directly image Earth-like planets around nearby stars, distinguishing between real planets and temporary dust clouds will become increasingly important.

From Science Daily • Jan. 1, 2026

Lynch took over Fidelity’s Magellan Fund when it had a mere $18 million in assets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

By the end of Lynch’s run Magellan was a behemoth struggling to eke out “a razor thin margin of victory,” as investment commentator William Bernstein put it.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2025

Galileo, when in 1610 he announced to the world what he had seen through his telescope, was compared to his fellow Florentine Amerigo Vespucci, to Christopher Columbus and to Ferdinand Magellan.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton