Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:

brazil

1 American  
[bruh-zil] / brəˈzɪl /

noun

  1. brazilwood.


Brazil 2 American  
[bruh-zil] / brəˈzɪl /

noun

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


Brazil 1 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)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

brazil 2 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.


Discover More

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


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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Saquon Barkley made a dream debut for the Philadelphia Eagles as they beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFL's first ever trip to brazil.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2024

Before manufacturers could produce them artificially, reds came from minerals, bugs, plants: madder root, kermes, cochineal, brazil wood, cinnabar.

From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2019

Put the brazil nuts into another freezer bag and also bash them, so you end up with different-sized nut rubble.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 13, 2018

Teaching girls self defense classes might be wise, not just in brazil.

From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2017

Here are four nuts, a brazil nut, an almond, a walnut and a pecan.

From The Children's Six Minutes by Bruce S. Wright

If customs officials checked on the car parts as they entered Brazil, they would see Porsche had logged 040 as scrapped—and seemingly of lesser value.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

And while there is an upscale residential surfing-centered community in Brazil called Praia da Grama, there aren’t yet completed residential surf-lagoon communities in the U.S. where owners can buy lots and build homes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

However, he left the country in a cloak-and-dagger operation via Argentina and Ecuador, and landed in Florida on Wednesday, where he declared himself the rightful "leader" of Brazil.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

He ended the letter by saying: "I left Brazil but I haven't abandoned Brazilians".

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

When Granny passed away herself, I thought how dying was a lot like what happened when the Stokeses went to Brazil or when Uncle Buson rode off into the night.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training