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

El Dorado County law enforcement officials say the investigation remains ongoing. —Richard Ramos, CBS News, 21 Feb. 2026

Sacred Lake Guatavita, famous for its role in the El Dorado legend, is also not to be missed. —Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 20 Feb. 2026

The other two members of the team were Chris Hillman of El Dorado Hills and Camren Spangler of Meadow Vista. —Mark Billingsley, Sacbee.com, 20 Feb. 2026

Contour is slated to operate 82 flights from DFW to El Dorado in March, according to data from Diio by Cirium. —Dallas Morning News, 19 Feb. 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

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!