Portuguese
Americanadjective
noun
-
a native or inhabitant of Portugal.
-
a Romance language spoken in Portugal, Brazil, and a few countries of Africa. Pg, Pg.
noun
-
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
-
a native, citizen, or inhabitant of Portugal
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.