Dili

American

[dil-ee] / ˈdɪl i /

Or Dilli,

noun

a city on NE Timor, the capital of East Timor.

Dili British

/ ˈdiːliː /

noun

the capital (from 2002) of independent East Timor: the former capital (until 1976) of Portuguese Timor. Pop: 50 000 (2005 est)

"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

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.

"Life is normal in Dili," he told the BBC on Wednesday.

From BBC • Sep. 17, 2025

They travelled through Kazakhstan, China, Laos, Thailand and Indonesia using multiple modes of transport, before taking a flight from Dili in East Timor's capital to cross the Timor Sea to Darwin, Australia.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2023

“He has a charisma and rich experience as a leader,” a Dili resident, Joao Agustino Sarmento, said of Gusmao.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 1, 2023

"The very first time I talked about this I was only 24, or 25," he said by telephone from the capital Dili.

From Reuters • Nov. 12, 2022

Oh, if that's it," said Dili, "I can no more object than I could if you talked to me about what is down a dozen fathoms in the earth under our feet.

From Barrington Volume I (of II) by Lever, Charles James

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023