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.

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noun

Portuguese plural

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

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adjective

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anti-Portuguese
  adjective
• non-Portuguese
  adjective
• pro-Portuguese
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Portuguese
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Portuguese

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

Example Sentences

The French were the third-largest slave traders in Europe, after the British and the Portuguese.

From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026

Similar to Portuguese man o' war, by-the-wind sailors are colonies of animals related to sea anemones and corals, and they possess stinging cells.

From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026

However, “in past El Niño events, we’ve seen similar-looking Portuguese man o’ war, a very rare visitor to our waters, washing up on our beaches.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026

Silva spent five years in charge at Craven Cottage but has opted to leave for Portuguese giants Benfica after they lost Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

JoJo mumbled in Portuguese and then said sorry in English.

From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin