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.
Webb—who contributed to “Bringing Up Baby,” “Out of the Past” and dozens of other pictures—weaves a unique spell, enhanced by hip, swingy Brazilian source music in the scenes set in Rio de Janeiro.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
The nearly 20-acre property is located near Angra dos Reis, a coastal region around two hours from Rio de Janeiro.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
Other major green corridor projects include a 250-mile route between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil, and a 740-mile route between Bogota and Cartagena, Colombia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The 26th International Aids Conference opened this week in Rio de Janeiro against the backdrop of deep US cuts to foreign aid introduced after President Donald Trump's return to the White House last year.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
The Botocudo were an indigenous group that lived a few hundred miles north of what is now Rio de Janeiro.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
