Portugal
Americannoun
noun
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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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We crossed paths with David from Portugal five times over two weeks, each time a greater joy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
Other issuers are the Netherlands and Austria on Tuesday, Portugal on Wednesday and Italy on Thursday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
But with speculation rampant around their reasons for returning and whether the stay is permanent, reports have noted the couple intend to keep their existing homes in California and Portugal.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Guinea-Bissau, one of the poorest countries in the world, has experienced at least nine attempted and successful coups since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
During dinner at Portugal Place I was back in a mood to worry about what was wrong.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.