Ways to say it
| Portuguese | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| aterro sanitário | masculine | |
| lixão | /liˈʃɐ̃w̃/ (Brazil) /liˈʃɐ̃w̃/ (Portugal) |
masculine |
The term refers to a site where refuse is buried. You may also encounter the more specific term aterro de resíduos sólidos when referring specifically to a solid waste landfill.
What does it mean word for word?
The word aterro comes from the verb aterrar (to land or to fill/cover with earth), which refers to the act of filling or covering an area.
Which one should you use?
There is a significant distinction between aterro sanitário and lixão. Use aterro sanitário to refer to a proper, controlled and regulated sanitary landfill that follows environmental safety standards. In contrast, use lixão to refer to an unregulated, unsanitary open dump.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To form the plural of aterro sanitário, add -s to both the noun and the adjective, resulting in aterros sanitários.
Did you know?
- In Brazil, the term aterro is also used for coastal land reclamation projects, such as the famous Aterro do Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro, which is a park built on filled land rather than a waste site.
- While aterro sanitário refers to an engineered landfill, the term lixão is often associated with 'catadores', the informal workers who manually sort through waste to recover recyclables.
- The word lixão uses the suffix -ão, which in Portuguese often functions to turn a noun into a superlative or something of great size. This creates a linguistic connection between the word 'trash' and the idea of a 'huge pile of trash'.
Examples in context
- No município, foi construído um novo aterro sanitário para o descarte adequado dos resíduos sólidos.In the municipality, a new landfill was built for the proper disposal of solid waste.
- O aterro de resíduos sólidos recebe diariamente toneladas de lixo provenientes da cidade.The solid waste landfill receives tons of garbage daily from the city.
- A prefeitura está buscando alternativas ao atual lixão da cidade.The city council is seeking alternatives to the current landfill in the city.
- O governo construiu um novo aterro sanitário.The government built a new landfill.
- Eles levam todo o lixo para o aterro sanitário.They take all the trash to the landfill.
Example conversation
Mariana and Felipe are discussing a local environmental issue.
- MarianaOnde eles colocam o lixo da cidade?Where do they put the city's trash?
- FelipeEles levam para o aterro sanitário municipal.They take it to the municipal landfill.
- MarianaEsse aterro sanitário é muito longe daqui?Is that landfill very far from here?
- FelipeSim, fica a duas horas de viagem.Yes, it is a two-hour drive away.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “landfill” translations and entries aterro sanitário, lixão, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
