Curaçao

American

[koor-uh-sou, -soh, kyoor-, koor-uh-sou, -soh, kyoor-] / ˈkʊər əˌsaʊ, -ˌsoʊ, ˈkyʊər-, ˌkʊər əˈsaʊ, -ˈsoʊ, ˌkyʊər- /

noun

the main island of the Netherlands Antilles, off the NW coast of Venezuela. 173 sq. mi. (448 sq. km). Willemstad.
Netherlands Antilles.
(lowercase) Also curaçao a cordial or liqueur flavored with the peel of the sour orange.

Curaçao British

/ ˌkjʊərəˈsəʊ /

noun

an island in the Caribbean, the largest in the Netherlands Antilles. Capital: Willemstad. Pop: 146 836 (2013 est). Area: 444 sq km (171 sq miles)
an orange-flavoured liqueur originally made there

"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

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.

Anbritt Stengele, founder of the sports-themed trip-planning company Sports Traveler, said your best bet might be tickets at matchups featuring non-top seeds like New Zealand or Curaçao, the smallest qualifying nation ever.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

In 2018, it seized barrels of crude stored at facilities on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Curaçao, Bonaire and Sint Eustatius, according to a person familiar with the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 19, 2026

A private Embraer jet arrived in Curaçao from Miami on Tuesday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

The winner of the Curaçao tournament would earn the right to play the current World Champion, Mikhail Botvinnik, in the next world title match.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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