/seuh rah"doh/ ; Port. /si rddah"doo/ , n. , pl. cerrados /-dohz/ ; Port. /-doos/ . Ecol.
a type of plains community characterized by vegetation ranging from tropical broadleaf woodlands to scrublands, occurring in extensive areas of Brazil.
[
cerrado thick, dense, lit., shut, ptp. of cerrar to close serrare; c in Pg, Sp perh. by assoc. with cercar to enclose, surround ]