bala de cañón
/bala de kaɲon/from spelling rulesfeminine
The English word "cannonball" is translated into Spanish as bala de cañón.
bala de cañón refers to a spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon.
Meaning: spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of bala (bullet/projectile) and de cañón (of cannon).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Latin America, salto de bomba is a widely understood term for a cannonball.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase plural, only the noun 'bala' is pluralized to 'balas'.
How do you pronounce it?
/bala de kaɲon/
Did you know?
- The word cañón is a homonym in Spanish and can also mean 'canyon'. This is because both a deep ravine and a cannon barrel share a similar tubular or channel-like shape.
- The word cañón is actually the augmentative form of caño, which means 'tube' or 'pipe'. In Spanish, adding the suffix -ón literally turns a small pipe into a 'big pipe'.
- While bala de cañón describes the weapon, the action of jumping into a pool in a 'cannonball' style is called salto de bomba in Latin America.
Examples in context
- Algún tipo de bala de cañón.Some kind of cannonball.This example shows how to use the phrase when referring to a specific type of bala de cañón.Tatoeba #8666932 by ajje, translation #8666934 by ajje
- El museo tiene una bala de cañón antigua.The museum has an ancient cannonball.
- Encontraron una bala de cañón en la playa.They found a cannonball on the beach.
Example conversation
Two people are looking at a historical exhibit in a park.
- Elena¿Qué es ese objeto de metal?What is that metal object?
- AlejandroEs una bala de cañón de la guerra.It is a cannonball from the war.
- ElenaEs impresionante ver una bala de cañón así.It is impressive to see a cannonball like that.
- AlejandroSí, es muy pesada.Yes, it is very heavy.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cannonball” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bala, cañón, de, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
