Capoeira (Portuguese pronunciation: [kapuˈe(j)ɾɐ]) is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, music, and spirituality.

It includes acrobatic and complex manoeuvres, often involving hands on the ground and inverted kicks. It emphasizes flowing movements rather than fixed stances; the ginga, a rocking step, is usually the focal point of the technique. Though often said to be a martial art disguised as a dance, capoeira also serves as a way to maintain spirituality and culture.

Capoeira has been practiced among Black Brazilians for centuries. The date of its creation is unknown, but it was first mentioned in a judicial document under the name Capoeiragem in 1789, as "the gravest of crimes". In the 19th century, a street fighting style called capoeira carioca was developed. It was outlawed and its performers persecuted. In the early 1930s, Mestre Bimba reformed traditional capoeira and developed the capoeira regional style. The government came to see capoeira as a socially acceptable sport. In 1941, Mestre Pastinha later founded his school where he cultivated the traditional capoeira Angola, distinguishing it from reformed capoeira and the "national sport" approach.

In the late 1970s, trailblazers such as Mestre Acordeon started bringing capoeira to the US and Europe, helping the art become internationally recognized and practiced. On 26 November 2014, capoeira was granted a special protected status as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. It is presently practiced all over the world, has appeared in commercial martial arts films, and has influenced the fighting styles of some practitioners of mixed martial arts.

In the past, many participants used the name angola or the term brincar de angola ("playing angola") for this art. In police documents, capoeira was known as capoeiragem, with a practitioner being called capoeira. Gradually, the art became known as capoeira, with a practitioner being called a capoeirista. In a narrower sense, capoeiragem meant a set of fighting skills. The term jogo de capoeira (capoeira game) is used to describe the art in the performative context.

Although debated, the most widely accepted origin of the word capoeira comes from the Tupi words ka'a ("forest") paũ ("round"), referring to small forested areas in the Brazilian interior where fugitive slaves would hide.

Well, there is one thing that nobody doubts: the ones to teach capoeira to us were the negro slaves that were brought from Angola.

— Mestre Pastinha