Mato Grosso

American  

[mah-too graw-soo, mat-uh groh-soh] / ˈmɑ tʊ ˈgrɔ sʊ, ˈmæt ə ˈgroʊ soʊ /

noun

1. a plateau in SW Brazil.

2. a state in SW Brazil. 475,378 sq. mi. (1,231,230 sq. km). Cuiabá.

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Mato Grosso British  

/ ˈmætəʊ ˈɡrɒsəʊ, ˈmatu ˈɡrosu /

noun

1. a high plateau of SW Brazil: forms the watershed separating the Amazon and Plata river systems

2. a state of W central Brazil: mostly on the Mato Grosso Plateau, with the Amazon basin to the north; valuable mineral resources. Capital: Cuiabá. Pop: 2 604 742 (2002). Area: 881 001 sq km (340 083 sq miles)

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Example Sentences

Amazonas neighbors Mato Grosso state, Brazil’s largest producer of soybeans and a major fertilizer consumer—some 400 miles away through dense rainforest, but still closer than Russia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025

Although the Cerrado extends across 11 states the researchers focused their efforts on Mato Grosso - as it has the country's largest cattle herd and contains parts of both the Cerrado and the Amazon.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2024

The Capricorn rout links the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, Parana and Santa Catarina through multiple pathways to Paraguay, Argentina and Chile.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2023

Amid the high heat, wildfires are burning widely in the Pantanal biome, the world’s biggest tropical wetlands spanning parts of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states.

From Washington Times • Nov. 15, 2023

Four years prior, in 1909, while Rondon was in an unexplored area in Mato Grosso, he discovered the headwaters of an unknown river.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple