açaí

American

[ah-sah-ee, ah-sahy-ee] / ˌɑ sɑˈi, ˌɑ saɪˈi /

Or acai

noun

the deep purple, edible berry of a Central and South American palm tree, Euterpe oleracea.

açaí British

/ asai /

noun

Also called: palm berry. a berry that grows on palm trees in the Brazilian rainforests. Because it is rich in nutrients, it is used to make energy drinks

"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

Etymology

Origin of açaí

First recorded in 1850–60; from Portuguese açaí, earlier açay, assaí, uaçay, from either Tupi ïwasaí (unrecorded) or a similar source in the Tupi-Guarani family

Vocabulary lists containing acai

Scrabble: Four-Letter Words with 3 Vowels

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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:

açaí

He has the confidence to only dress up his new dystopia a tad, letting the scale of the oppression creep up on you when, say, an açaí bowl salesman casually asks Tereza for her papers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026

They have delicious smoothies, fresh açaí bowls and classic Brazilian breakfast favorites.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025

He used to make an income from harvesting açaí berries from trees that once occupied the space.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2025

Its branches bear clusters of between 500 to 900 fruits, hanging up to 80 feet from the ground—making it risky for açaí pickers to climb the tree and access the fruit.

From National Geographic ● Dec. 14, 2023

This has gone on for so long now that we should have an annual goodbye-West festival with health-abetting foods such as kale and açaí.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 23, 2022

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