tatuzão

Portuguese

Etymology

From tatu +‎ -zão. Literally, “big armadillo”.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /taˌtuˈzɐ̃w̃/ [taˌtuˈzɐ̃ʊ̯̃]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /tɐˌtuˈzɐ̃w̃/

Noun

tatuzão m (plural tatuzões)

1. (Brazil) (engineering) tunnel boring machine, TBM, tunnelling machine (a large machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section)

   Synonym: tuneladora

Further reading

• “tatuzão”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “tatuzão”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025