Meanings
nounsertão (plural sertãos or sertões)
plural sertãos · plural sertões
- geographyThe semi-arid, barren inland portion of northeastern Brazil.
The news soon spread throughout the sertão: the saint who had wandered the length and breadth of the land for a quarter of a century had put down roots in that place surrounded by stony hills called Canudos […].
1984, Mario Vargas Llosa, translated by Helen R. Lane, The War of the End of the World, Folio Society, published 2012, page 58 - broadlyA similarly arid area in another region or country.
Origin
- Portuguesesertão
- Englishsertão
Borrowed from Portuguese sertão.
More words from Portuguese
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
sertão. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sert%C3%A3o
MLA
“sertão.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sert%C3%A3o. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sertão,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sert%C3%A3o.
Source: sertão on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.