Carioca
name, noun ·4 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A sideways step in which one leg crosses over the other.
"In the final phase, the athlete works in non-cleated shoes on starts, stops, jumps, rounded side-step cuts, and crossover cuts, advancing to hard 90° cuts, and running tighter and tighter figures-of-eight. Defensive backs run sideways and backward and perform carioca (crossover) steps."
- 2 A native or inhabitant of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil
"Needless to say, a true Carioca never makes mistakes when dealing with money."
- 3 a lively ballroom dance that resembles the samba wordnet
- 4 Alternative form of Carioca. alt-of, alternative
"But, for someone looking at it objectively, the relationship is a deceptive one – because at the same time as cariocas can't be seen working (shut up as they are in offices, government institutions and commercial establishments), everyone can see cariocas not working."
- 5 music composed for dancing the carioca wordnet
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- 6 a native or inhabitant of Rio de Janeiro wordnet
- 1 A river in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil; in full, the Carioca River.
Example
More examples"I have a Carioca accent when I speak Portuguese."
Etymology
From Portuguese carioca.
Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese carioca.
Borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese Carioca.
Related phrases
More for "carioca"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.