churrasco

American  

[chuh-ras-koh, choor-rahs-kaw] / tʃəˈræs koʊ, tʃurˈrɑs kɔ /

noun

Latin-American Cooking.

plural

churrascos

1. meat cooked over an open fire.

2. a large piece of meat suitable for barbecuing.

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Etymology

Origin of churrasco

First recorded in 1915–20; from Brazilian Portuguese, Latin American Spanish (Argentina, Uruguay); compare dialectal Spanish (Salamanca region) churrusco “piece of burnt toast,” churruscar “to begin to burn,” Spanish socarrar “to scorch, singe,” all from a pre-Latin etymon

Example Sentences

The fare is all Brazilian, from feijão tropeiro, a traditional bean dish, to chicken, pork and beef churrasco or Brazilian-style barbecue.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Cattle and ranching are synonymous with the culture and romance of the gauchos—the cowboys of southern Brazil—as legendary as their counterparts in the American West and known for skewered barbecued steak called churrasco.

From National Geographic • Jan. 24, 2024

When Manion opened his first restaurant, Nuevo Latino-inspired Mas, in Chicago in 1999, he menued a very Y2K dish called churrasco atún — aka, grilled yellowfin tuna with green chimichurri and yucca fries.

From Salon • Feb. 22, 2023

I had a tender chicken breast powder coated in parsley, oregano and garlic, served with Spanish rice, refried black beans and a vibrant churrasco salsa.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2022

Fried yellowtail snapper, perfectly grilled churrasco, avocado and papaya salad all came so quickly I couldn’t keep track of what I was eating.

From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2015