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Rio de Janeiro

American  
[ree-oh dey zhuh-nair-oh, -neer-oh, juh-, dee, duh, ree-oo di zhi-ney-roo] / ˈri oʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛər oʊ, -ˈnɪər oʊ, dʒə-, di, də, ˈri ʊ dɪ ʒɪˈneɪ rʊ /

noun

  1. a seaport in SE Brazil: former capital.


Rio de Janeiro British  
/ ˈriːəʊ də dʒəˈnɪərəʊ /

noun

  1. a port in SE Brazil, on Guanabara Bay: the country's chief port and its capital from 1763 to 1960; backed by mountains, notably Sugar Loaf Mountain; founded by the French in 1555 and taken by the Portuguese in 1567. Pop: 11 469 000 (2005 est)

  2. a state of E Brazil. Capital: Rio de Janeiro. Pop: 14 724 475 (2002). Area: 42 911 sq km (16 568 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

Rio de Janeiro Cultural  
  1. City in southeastern Brazil on the Atlantic Ocean. Second-largest city in Brazil, after São Paulo; its former capital; and its financial, commercial, transportation, and cultural center.


Discover More

Rio is famous as a tourist attraction. Especially popular are its beaches, particularly the Copacabana.

Rio's annual carnival is world-famous.

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:

Webb—who contributed to “Bringing Up Baby,” “Out of the Past” and dozens of other pictures—weaves a unique spell, enhanced by hip, swingy Brazilian source music in the scenes set in Rio de Janeiro.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 4, 2026

The nearly 20-acre property is located near Angra dos Reis, a coastal region around two hours from Rio de Janeiro.

From MarketWatch Sep. 1, 2026

In Rio de Janeiro, municipal workers this week covered up billboards with the message: "Betting ad REMOVED."

From Barron's Jul. 17, 2026

He finally managed to fulfil his dream of winning the trophy at Qatar 2022, helping make up for past pain including the 2014 final defeat by Germany in Rio de Janeiro.

From BBC Jul. 15, 2026

And the advocates of development are often from Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, or Brasilia, cities that are thousands of miles away from the Amazon and culturally almost as remote as environmentalists’ cities.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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