Jump To:

• brazil
  brazil

  noun

  brazilwood.
• Brazil
  Brazil

  noun

  a republic in South America. 3,286,170 sq. mi. (8,511,180 sq. km). Brasília.

brazil

¹ American  

[bruh-zil] / brəˈzɪl /

noun

1. brazilwood.

---

Brazil ² American  

[bruh-zil] / brəˈzɪl /

noun

1. a republic in South America. 3,286,170 sq. mi. (8,511,180 sq. km). Brasília.

---

brazil ¹ British  

/ brəˈzɪl /

noun

1. Also called: brazil wood. the red wood obtained from various tropical leguminous trees of the genus Caesalpinia , such as C. echinata of America: used for cabinetwork

2. the red or purple dye extracted from any of these woods See also brazilin

3. short for brazil nut

---

Brazil ² British  

/ brəˈzɪl /

noun

1. a republic in South America, comprising about half the area and half the population of South America: colonized by the Portuguese from 1500 onwards; became independent in 1822 and a republic in 1889; consists chiefly of the tropical Amazon basin in the north, semiarid scrub in the northeast, and a vast central tableland; an important producer of coffee and minerals, esp iron ore. Official language: Portuguese. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: real. Capital: Brasília. Pop: 201 009 622 (2013 est). Area: 8 511 957 sq km (3 286 470 sq miles)

---

Brazil Cultural  

1. Republic in eastern South America. It borders on every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. Its capital is Brasilia, and its largest city is São Paulo.

---

Discover More

The only country in South America whose history was dominated by Portugal; it is the largest Portuguese-speaking country in the world.

The largest of the Latin-American countries, Brazil occupies almost half of South America.

It is the world's leading coffee exporter.

Other Word Forms

• Brazilian
  adjective
• anti-Brazilian
  adjective
• pro-Brazilian
  adjective
• pseudo-Brazilian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of brazil

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English brasile, from Medieval Latin, from Italian, from Spanish brasil, derivative of brasa “live coal” (the wood being red in color), from Germanic; see braise

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brazil Brazil

Saquon Barkley made a dream debut for the Philadelphia Eagles as they beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFL's first ever trip to brazil.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2024

Before manufacturers could produce them artificially, reds came from minerals, bugs, plants: madder root, kermes, cochineal, brazil wood, cinnabar.

From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2019

Put the brazil nuts into another freezer bag and also bash them, so you end up with different-sized nut rubble.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 13, 2018

Teaching girls self defense classes might be wise, not just in brazil.

From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2017

Biscuits 8 ozs. white flour, 2 ozs. ground rice, 3 ozs. sugar, 4 ozs. grated brazil kernels.

From No Animal Food and Nutrition and Diet with Vegetable Recipes by Rupert H. Wheldon

“The pressure was there on them. Two hundred million in Brazil, expecting them to win against a small nation like Norway. I mean, Brazil is Brazil.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

“The Brazil of bossa nova and samba, the Brazil that so many foreigners know and that Lula grew up with, has now been almost totally replaced,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

His father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

The banker, Daniel Vorcaro, is well connected and has ties to many powerful people in Brazil - both on the political right and left.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

That’s what we were told awaited us in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as we prepared for the 2016 Olympic Games.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad