acai

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noun \ ˌä-ˌsä-ˈē , -sī-ˈē \

variants: or less commonly açai

Definition of acai

1 a or acai 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 rain forests of Central and South America

b :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

Recent Examples of acai from the Web

On the Bus sells sandwiches, as well, and also toast, date shakes, acai bowls, smoothies and bakery items such as granola bars and meringues.

— carol deptolla, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Vegan restaurant On the Bus open at Milwaukee Public Market," 29 Aug. 2017
In the mornings, Gabrielle will have anything from oatmeal and blueberries to an acai bowl.

— melissa malamut, Bon Appetit, "The Chef Keeping Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade at the Top of Their Games," 8 Aug. 2017
Left Coast is known for its Instagram-worthy breakfast items, like avocado toast, acai bowls and breakfast burritos.

— rebecca aydin, chicagotribune.com, "Restaurant openings: Chuy’s comes to suburbs, Honeygrow launching with free food," 28 July 2017
The Island Bowl base replaces the acai with vibrant pitaya, more commonly known as dragon fruit.

— birmingham magazine, AL.com, "Explore these 10 incredible honeymoon destinations," 19 July 2017
The acai mango bowl includes açaí, banana, pineapple and mango.

— hang nguyen, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Nekter Juice Bar opens 2 more stores in San Diego County," 28 June 2017
Clean Juice eateries also offer acai (a ‘supefood’ native to South and Central America) bowls, smoothies (including protein smoothies), oatmeal bowls and toasts.

— lauren delgado, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Juice bar opening cafes in Winter Park, Oviedo," 27 June 2017
The acai berry is an inch-long, reddish-purple fruit.

— candy calderon, NBC News, "Six Latino ‘Superfoods’ You Should Add to Your Diet," 6 June 2017
The bowls are full of pitaya or acai with toppings such as berries, almond milk, shredded coconut and hemp granola.

— jenn harris, latimes.com, "Chef Jonathan Waxman heads back to SoCal with a new restaurant in Century City," 30 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'acai.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of acai

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1868

See Words from the same year