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

He was educated in the El Dorado school system and graduated from El Dorado High School in 1956. —Arkansas Online, 11 Apr. 2026

Xavi Cadena contributed three hits for El Dorado. —Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026

El Dorado County's project is designed to be a model, following research from wildfire experts showing that neighborhoods are less likely to burn if most homes participate. —Lauren Sommer, NPR, 10 Apr. 2026

In 2024, a mountain lion killed a man in El Dorado County, and in 2023 a black bear killed a woman in her own home in Downieville. —Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 8 Apr. 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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