Portugal

American  

[pawr-chuh-guhl, pohr-, pawr-too-gahl] / ˈpɔr tʃə gəl, ˈpoʊr-, ˌpɔr tʊˈgɑl /

noun

1. a republic in SW Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, W of Spain. (Including the Azores and the Madeira Islands) 35,414 sq. mi. (91,720 sq. km). Lisbon.

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Portugal British  

/ ˈpɔːtjʊɡəl /

noun

1. a republic in SW Europe, on the Atlantic: became an independent monarchy in 1139 and expelled the Moors in 1249 after more than four centuries of Muslim rule; became a republic in 1910; under the dictatorship of Salazar from 1932 until 1968, when he was succeeded by Dr Caetano, who was overthrown by a junta in 1974; constitutional government restored in 1976. Portugal is a member of the European Union. Official language: Portuguese. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: euro. Capital: Lisbon. Pop: 10 799 270 (2013 est). Area: 91 831 sq km (35 456 sq miles)

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Portugal Cultural  

1. Republic in southwestern Europe, bordered by Spain to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west. Its capital and largest city is Lisbon.

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Portugal has been independent since the twelfth century, except for sixty years of Spanish rule in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

Portugal has been a member of NATO since 1949.

Famous for its explorers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Portugal followed such exploration closely with colonization. By the middle of the sixteenth century, Portugal controlled a vast overseas empire, including Brazil.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Portugal

In a paper last year for the Journal of Environmental Management, Mr. Resco de Dios and co-authors looked at fires in the temperate forests of southwestern Europe, including Spain, France and Portugal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Zach Johnson shot a seven-under-par final round to hold off Stewart Cink and Padraig Harrington in the inaugural Portugal Invitational at The Els Club in Vilamoura.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

The event, hosted by four-time major champion Ernie Els on a course he redesigned, attracted a star-studded field for the first officially sanctioned PGA Tour Champions event to be staged in Portugal.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Zhang has also seen increased interest from students since March, when local brand ZXMoto made headlines by becoming the first Chinese manufacturer to win a race in the prestigious WorldSSP class in Portugal.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

May 8: A US Navy seaplane begins the first transatlantic flight, making stops in Newfoundland and the Azores before touching ground in continental Europe in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 27.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler