Rio de Janeiro
Americannoun
noun
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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)
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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 is famous as a tourist attraction. Especially popular are its beaches, particularly the Copacabana.
Rio's annual carnival is world-famous.
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.
Around 200 people were trapped at the top of a popular Rio de Janeiro tourist spot during a police operation in the Vidigal favela of the city, according to local media.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
Amazon is taking over all of Globalstar's infrastructure, which includes operations in Louisiana, Georgia, Dublin, Ireland, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Toulouse, France, and two locations in California.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
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
A Rio de Janeiro court has overturned a fine of more than $3 million against football star Neymar for allegedly damaging the environment by building an artificial lake at his mansion.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
No one is more surprised than I am that the little girl with the big muscles ended up on a path from foster care to an Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
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.
