acai

noun

ˌä-ˌsä-ˈē 

-sī-ˈē

variants or less commonly açai

1

a

or acai berry or less commonly açai berry : a small, dark purple, berrylike fruit with a juicy pulp that is often used in beverages or eaten raw and that is produced by a tall, slender palm (Euterpe oleracea) native to tropical rainforests of Central and South America

Note: Acai is a single-seeded drupe that grows in large clusters. In the Brazilian Amazon [Rainforest], acai makes up an important part of the local diet and is often prepared as a mash with cassava pulp.

b

or acai palm or less commonly açai palm : the palm (Euterpe oleracea) that produces acai berries

2

: a beverage made from the juice of the acai berry

Rio de Janeiro is the city that worships health and beauty and where the healthy and the beautiful drink acai.

—Alex Bellosz

Examples of acai in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Vale offerings include acai bowls, poke bowls and avocado toast at the cold superfood station as well as build-your-own protein bowls and signature salads at the hot-food station. —Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 20 Nov. 2024

It’s infused with avocado oil for nourishment, as well as anti-oxidant rich pomegranate and acai extracts. —Hannah Rice, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2024

And Fitzgerald could start thinking about tomorrow’s acai bowl. —Andrew Baggarly, The Athletic, 5 Aug. 2024

Dim sum, acai bowls and some notorious chicken fingers. —Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 15 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Brazilian Portuguese assaí, uaçaí, açaí, the palm Euterpe oleracea, borrowed from Tupi *ɨβasaí, from ɨβá "plant, fruit" + an element of uncertain meaning

First Known Use

circa 1861, in the meaning defined at sense 1b