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• brazil
  brazil

  noun

  brazilwood.
• Brazil
  Brazil

  noun

  a republic in South America. 3,286,170 sq. mi. (8,511,180 sq. km). Brasília.

brazil

¹ American  

[bruh-zil] / brəˈzɪl /

noun

1. brazilwood.

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Brazil ² American  

[bruh-zil] / brəˈzɪl /

noun

1. a republic in South America. 3,286,170 sq. mi. (8,511,180 sq. km). Brasília.

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brazil ¹ British  

/ brəˈzɪl /

noun

1. Also called: brazil wood.  the red wood obtained from various tropical leguminous trees of the genus Caesalpinia , such as C. echinata of America: used for cabinetwork

2. the red or purple dye extracted from any of these woods See also brazilin

3. short for brazil nut

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Brazil ² British  

/ brəˈzɪl /

noun

1. a republic in South America, comprising about half the area and half the population of South America: colonized by the Portuguese from 1500 onwards; became independent in 1822 and a republic in 1889; consists chiefly of the tropical Amazon basin in the north, semiarid scrub in the northeast, and a vast central tableland; an important producer of coffee and minerals, esp iron ore. Official language: Portuguese. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: real. Capital: Brasília. Pop: 201 009 622 (2013 est). Area: 8 511 957 sq km (3 286 470 sq miles)

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Brazil Cultural  

1. Republic in eastern South America. It borders on every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. Its capital is Brasilia, and its largest city is São Paulo.

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The only country in South America whose history was dominated by Portugal; it is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world.

The largest of the Latin-American countries, Brazil occupies almost half of South America.

It is the world's leading coffee exporter.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pseudo-Brazilian
  adjective
• Brazilian
  adjective
• pro-Brazilian
  adjective
• anti-Brazilian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of brazil

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English brasile, from Medieval Latin, from Italian, from Spanish brasil, derivative of brasa “live coal” (the wood being red in color), from Germanic; see braise

Example Sentences

By the 2030s, however, the company hopes to separate some of its rare earths in Brazil and recycle magnet waste generated during manufacturing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

For Scotland die-hards, he added capacity from their opening matches in the Boston area to Miami, where their final group match against Brazil is set.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

Last year's summit in Brazil ended with a modest pact that failed to explicitly mention fossil fuels and many nations fear a repeat unless stronger leadership is shown.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

With No. 6 Brazil and eighth-ranked Morocco, this is the only group with two teams ranked among the world’s top 10 by FIFA.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Maybe I can’t do algebra or say ‘Nice poodle’ in French or tell you who discovered Brazil, but I can make a fire with two dry sticks and a rock.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen