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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.

The games in 2030 will span multiple countries, too, but much smaller ones: Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with opening games in Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

Protests also erupted in the 1960s over the participation of Spain under dictator General Francisco Franco, and Portugal under the dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.

From Barron's • May 16, 2026

Now they were getting in touch from France and Germany, Portugal and Spain, Austria and Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands and Sweden.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

Georgia finished bottom of their pool, drawing against Portugal and losing their other three matches.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

Eurasia comprises the whole of the northern part of the European and Asiatic land-mass, from Portugal to the Bering Strait.

From "1984" by George Orwell

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