buque

Buque is a Spanish noun that denotes a ship or vessel, particularly a larger, seagoing one. In nautical and military contexts the term often appears in phrases such as buque de guerra (warship) or buque mercante (merchant ship). While bar­co is a more general everyday term, buque carries a formal or technical nuance and is common in maritime law, ship registries, and naval literature.

The word is used with modifiers to describe categories of ships, for example buque de pasajeros (passenger ship), buque tanque (oil or chemical tanker), and buque portacontenedores (container ship). Other common combinations include buque escuela for training ships and buque insignia to denote a flagship. Phrases like desguace de buques refer to ship breaking, and la armada de buques to fleets.

In historical contexts, buque appears in treaties, navigational manuals, and logs to distinguish larger seafaring vessels from smaller boats. The term is primarily found in Spanish-speaking maritime discourse and is less common in everyday conversation, where words like barco or navío may be preferred depending on size and function. The designation buque insignia highlights the lead ship of a naval force, reflecting status within a fleet. Overall, buque serves as a formal, technical label for ships, underscoring their function or role within maritime activity.