Madeira

American  

[muh-deer-uh, -dair-uh, mah-de-ruh] / məˈdɪər ə, -ˈdɛər ə, mɑˈdɛ rə /

noun

1. a group of eight islands off the NW coast of Africa, part of Portugal. 308 sq. mi. (798 sq. km). Funchal.

2. the chief island of this group. 286 sq. mi. (741 sq. km).

3. (often lowercase) a rich, strong white or amber wine, resembling sherry, made there.

4. (often lowercase) a similar wine made elsewhere.

5. a river in W Brazil flowing NE to the Amazon: chief tributary of the Amazon. 2,100 miles (3,380 km) long.

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Madeira British  

/ məˈdɪərə, məˈðəirə /

noun

1. a group of volcanic islands in the N Atlantic, west of Morocco: since 1976 an autonomous region of Portugal; consists of the chief island, Madeira, Porto Santo, and the uninhabited Deserta and Selvagen Islands. Capital: Funchal. Pop: 245 012 (2001). Area: 797 sq km (311 sq miles)

2. a river in W Brazil, flowing northeast to the Amazon below Manaus. Length: 3241 km (2013 miles)

3. a rich strong fortified white wine made on Madeira

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Madeira

For mains, the grilled rainbow trout with Carolina Gold rice and espelette-citrus beurre blanc was beautifully balanced, while the butternut squash agnolotti with Madeira foam and ricotta offered a rich, comforting counterpoint.

From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026

Emergency services were called at about 05:45 BST to a report of a person in the water near Black Rock car park in Madeira Drive.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

He was born in Guinea-Bissau in 1991 and lived in Madeira, and then Lisbon, in Portugal as a young child, before his family moved to the UK when he was 16.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

To Madeira was a bargain wonderkid on Championship Manager 01-02, a guaranteed goal-getter available for a few hundred thousand pounds who would evolve into one of the game's greatest strikers.

From BBC ● May 5, 2026

The end of May they stood out from Madeira and headed south.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham