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Portugal

American  
[pawr-chuh-guhl, pohr-, pawr-too-gahl] / ˈpɔr tʃə gəl, ˈpoʊr-, ˌpɔr tʊˈgɑl /

noun

  1. a republic in SW Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, W of Spain. (Including the Azores and the Madeira Islands) 35,414 sq. mi. (91,720 sq. km). Lisbon.


Portugal British  
/ ˈpɔːtjʊɡəl /

noun

  1. a republic in SW Europe, on the Atlantic: became an independent monarchy in 1139 and expelled the Moors in 1249 after more than four centuries of Muslim rule; became a republic in 1910; under the dictatorship of Salazar from 1932 until 1968, when he was succeeded by Dr Caetano, who was overthrown by a junta in 1974; constitutional government restored in 1976. Portugal is a member of the European Union. Official language: Portuguese. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: euro. Capital: Lisbon. Pop: 10 799 270 (2013 est). Area: 91 831 sq km (35 456 sq miles)

"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

Portugal Cultural  
  1. Republic in southwestern Europe, bordered by Spain to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west. Its capital and largest city is Lisbon.


Discover More

Portugal has been independent since the twelfth century, except for sixty years of Spanish rule in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.

Portugal has been a member of NATO since 1949.

Famous for its explorers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Portugal followed such exploration closely with colonization. By the middle of the sixteenth century, Portugal controlled a vast overseas empire, including Brazil.

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.

“I want to emphasize the importance of the players who come off the bench,” De la Fuente said after the Portugal game.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 10, 2026

Even within Europe, automotive labor costs in countries such as Portugal, Romania and Hungary are less than a third of German levels, according to VDA calculations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 10, 2026

Pill said countries like Greece, Spain Portugal and Ireland had to go through "a lot of pain", with politicians making "difficult decisions" about changing their economies.

From BBC • Jul. 9, 2026

The Welsh singer died in a Portugal hospital on Wednesday night, according to a statement on her official website and social media accounts Thursday morning.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2026

There are some wooden fish hanging on the wall and a poster of a Portugal map over the couch.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

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