Rio de Janeiro

American  

[ree-oh dey zhuh-nair-oh, -neer-oh, juh-, dee, duh, ree-oo di zhi-ney-roo] / ˈri oʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛər oʊ, -ˈnɪər oʊ, dʒə-, di, də, ˈri ʊ dɪ ʒɪˈneɪ rʊ /

noun

1. a seaport in SE Brazil: former capital.

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Rio de Janeiro British  

/ ˈriːəʊ də dʒəˈnɪərəʊ /

noun

1. a port in SE Brazil, on Guanabara Bay: the country's chief port and its capital from 1763 to 1960; backed by mountains, notably Sugar Loaf Mountain; founded by the French in 1555 and taken by the Portuguese in 1567. Pop: 11 469 000 (2005 est)

2. a state of E Brazil. Capital: Rio de Janeiro. Pop: 14 724 475 (2002). Area: 42 911 sq km (16 568 sq miles)

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Rio de Janeiro Cultural  

1. City in southeastern Brazil on the Atlantic Ocean. Second-largest city in Brazil, after São Paulo; its former capital; and its financial, commercial, transportation, and cultural center.

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Discover More

Rio is famous as a tourist attraction. Especially popular are its beaches, particularly the Copacabana.

Rio's annual carnival is world-famous.

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, Brazil’s planters mobilized more than one million slaves to settle frontier lands west of Rio de Janeiro, almost entirely to satisfy the North American demand for coffee.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

Previous editions of the No Art festival have been held in Barcelona, Miami and Rio de Janeiro.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

He’s traveled the world as a wheelchair rugby player, winning gold, silver and bronze medals at Paralympic Games in Beijing, Rio de Janeiro and London.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2026

Jones, 32, won Olympic gold at the 2012 Olympics in London and again in Rio de Janeiro four years later.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

“Tons of places. I wanted to do cool stuff, like surfing in Morocco, hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro, and maybe swimming with dolphins in Mexico—see? Dolphins, not sharks,” Rufus says.

From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera