Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Portuguese

American  
[pawr-chuh-geez, -gees, pohr-, pawr-chuh-geez, -gees, pohr-] / ˌpɔr tʃəˈgiz, -ˈgis, ˌpoʊr-, ˈpɔr tʃəˌgiz, -ˌgis, ˈpoʊr- /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Portugal, its inhabitants, or their language.


noun

  1. a native or inhabitant of Portugal.

  2. a Romance language spoken in Portugal, Brazil, and a few countries of Africa. Pg, Pg.

Portuguese British  
/ ˌpɔːtjʊˈɡiːz /

noun

  1. the official language of Portugal, its overseas territories, and Brazil: the native language of approximately 110 million people. It belongs to the Romance group of the Indo-European family and is derived from the Galician dialect of Vulgar Latin

  2. a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Portugal

"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

adjective

  1. relating to, denoting, or characteristic of Portugal, its inhabitants, or their language

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

Etymology

Origin of Portuguese

1580–90; < Portuguese português, Spanish portugués; see Portugal, -ese

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.

His polyglot is a mixture of French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Latin and Greek, which is how these passages appear in the diary.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

Even his Portuguese lessons seem to reflect that.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

"I'm the one who has to make the effort to speak Portuguese here."

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

"I was surprised by his commitment," Roberto Piantino, who has been working with him on his Portuguese, told BBC Sport.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

In 1696, this rebellion came to full flower when an Arab force sailed into an African harbor at Mombasa and laid siege to the vital Portuguese fort at Fort Jesus.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "Portuguese" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com