Brasília

American  

[bruh-zil-yuh, brah-zeel-yuh] / brəˈzɪl yə, brɑˈzil yə /

noun

1. a city in and the capital of Brazil, on the central plateau.

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Brasília British  

/ brəˈzɪljə, brəziˈliːa /

noun

1. the capital of Brazil (since 1960), on the central plateau: the former capital was Rio de Janeiro. Pop: 3 341 000 (2005 est)

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Brasilia Cultural  

1. Capital of Brazil, located in its central highlands.

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One of the newest cities in the world, Brasilia was inaugurated in 1960 to replace Rio de Janeiro as Brazil's capital. The Brazilian government moved the capital in an effort to promote development in central Brazil. In less than thirty years, its population had grown to over a million inhabitants.

Example Sentences

Located just outside Abadiânia, an agricultural town about 60 miles from Brasília, Route 60 is family diner, truck stop and country store rolled into one.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Brazil's Supreme Court allowed the 70-year-old to be transferred from federal police headquarters where he is serving his sentence to a hospital in the capital, Brasília, for the initial surgery.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2025

I distinctly remember being on the family Mac in Brasília at 13 years old, grooving to a CD I’d just burned and thinking: If only my future friends at my new school could hear this.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025

Meanwhile, the corridors of the presidential palace in Brasília were buzzing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 22, 2025

And Costa ponders the layout of Brasília, a would-be utopian city expressly built as the nation’s capital.

From New York Times • Nov. 29, 2024