An administrative region of southeast China comprising Macao Peninsula and two offshore islands in the South China Sea west of Hong Kong. A Portuguese trading post was established here in 1557 and became a free port in 1849. Macao was a Portuguese overseas province until 1999, when it reverted to Chinese sovereignty. The city of Macao, coextensive with the peninsula, is the capital. Population: 457,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
