Uruguay

American  

[yoor-uh-gwey, -gwahy, oo-roo-gwahy] / ˈyʊər əˌgweɪ, -ˌgwaɪ, ˌu ruˈgwaɪ /

noun

1. a republic in southeastern South America. 72,172 sq. mi. (186,925 sq. km). Montevideo.

2. a river in southeastern South America, flowing from southern Brazil along the boundary of eastern Argentina into the Río de la Plata. 981 miles (1,580 km) long.

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Uruguay British  

/ ˈjʊərəˌɡwaɪ /

noun

1. a republic in South America, on the Atlantic: Spanish colonization began in 1624, followed by Portuguese settlement in 1680; revolted against Spanish rule in 1820 but was annexed by the Portuguese to Brazil; gained independence in 1825. It consists mainly of rolling grassy plains, low hills, and plateaus. Official language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: peso. Capital: Montevideo. Pop: 3 324 460 (2013 est). Area: 176 215 sq km (68 037 sq miles)

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Uruguay Cultural  

1. Republic on the east coast of South America, tucked between Brazil to the north and east and Argentina to the west. The capital and largest city is Montevideo.

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Discover More

It is a major producer of beef, leather, and wool.

Uruguay was under a repressive and violent military government from 1973 to 1985.

Other Word Forms

• Uruguayan adjective
• anti-Uruguayan adjective
• pro-Uruguayan adjective

Example Sentences

The England manager watched his side labour for goals without captain and record goalscorer Harry Kane during last month's friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

England looked toothless without him against Uruguay and Japan and when he also missed Bayern's game over the weekend, fears grew over a more serious issue than had been diagnosed.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

Kane did not figure in either the draw against Uruguay or this loss to an impressive Japan, who sit 18th in the Fifa rankings, some 14 places below high-flying England.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

As part of their preparations Japan face England on Tuesday in a friendly after beating Scotland 1-0, while the Three Lions played out a 1-1 stalemate against Uruguay on Friday.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

There were kids from Uruguay and Korea who had just learned English but were doing extra credit for the current events stuff in Intro to Wall Street, reading Barron’s and Crain’s Business Daily.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini