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

Catering — offers customers event menu planning for free. Pours — features beer, coffee, tea, smoothies and acai bowls. —Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 26 Mar. 2025

For now, Gathering Grounds’ menu includes a variety of lattes, including three signature house lattes; energy drinks, teas, horchata cold brew in addition to breakfast sandwiches, acai bowls and muffins. —Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2025

Trader Joe’s organic acai bowl has been recalled over contamination fears. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2025

The acai bowl recall was not initiated by the USDA or FDA as many recalls are but rather by Trader Joe’s on Feb. 14 with a brief explanation. —Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2025

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