Portugal
Americannoun
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a republic in SW Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, W of Spain. (Including the Azores and the Madeira Islands) 35,414 sq. mi. (91,720 sq. km). Lisbon.
noun
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a republic in SW Europe, on the Atlantic: became an independent monarchy in 1139 and expelled the Moors in 1249 after more than four centuries of Muslim rule; became a republic in 1910; under the dictatorship of Salazar from 1932 until 1968, when he was succeeded by Dr Caetano, who was overthrown by a junta in 1974; constitutional government restored in 1976. Portugal is a member of the European Union. Official language: Portuguese. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: euro. Capital: Lisbon. Pop: 10 799 270 (2013 est). Area: 91 831 sq km (35 456 sq miles)
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Republic in southwestern Europe, bordered by Spain to the north and east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west. Its capital and largest city is Lisbon.
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Portugal has been independent since the twelfth century, except for sixty years of Spanish rule in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
Portugal has been a member of NATO since 1949.
Famous for its explorers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Portugal followed such exploration closely with colonization. By the middle of the sixteenth century, Portugal controlled a vast overseas empire, including Brazil.
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.
DR Congo's first match will be against Ronaldo's Portugal in the US city of Houston on 17 June.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
But lesser-known parts of Portugal are worth a visit, too.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
Over the following two weeks the drop was just one percent in Britain and France, but 23.5 percent in Ireland and 15.4 percent in Portugal, two countries more dependent upon foreign tourists.
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
The trained massage therapist recalled during the Newsnight discussion that she gave Clinton a neck and back massage at an airport in Portugal while the plane refuelled.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
In 1532 King Joao III of Portugal divided the coast of Brazil into fourteen provinces and dispatched colonists to each one.
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.