El Dorado

noun

El Do·​ra·​do ˌel-də-ˈrä-(ˌ)dō 

-ˈrā-

1

: a city or country of fabulous riches held by 16th century explorers to exist in South America

2

: a place of fabulous wealth or opportunity

Did you know?

In the early 1500s, Spanish conquistadores heard tales of an Amazonian king who regularly coated his body with gold dust, then plunged into a nearby lake to wash it off while being showered with gold and jewels thrown by his subjects. The Spaniards called the city ruled by this flamboyant monarch El Dorado, Spanish for "gilded one," and the story of the gold-covered king eventually grew into a legend of a whole country paved with gold. These days, El Dorado can also used generically for any place of vast riches, abundance, or opportunity. It is also the name of actual cities in Arkansas and Kansas.

Examples of El Dorado in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Conversations resurfaced in 2020 when an ad hoc committee was formed, soliciting interest from local agencies, like the El Dorado Hills Fire Department and El Dorado Local Agency Formation Commission, to form a working group. — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 10 July 2026

Corporate sponsors have backed Liga El Dorado, according to Sanchez, but the league must first receive approval from the Colombian Football Federation in order to operate. — Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 7 July 2026

Punishing sextortion House Bill 2537, also known as Caleb’s Law, is named after Caleb Moore, a 14-year-old El Dorado boy who died by suicide after officials say he was targeted by an online sextortion scheme. — Matthew Kelly july 1, Kansas City Star, 1 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, literally, the gilded one

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for El Dorado

• avocado
• desperado
• adelantado
• bravado
• machado
• mikado
• incommunicado

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