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

At the time, Madrigal described the restaurant as a second chance for his cantina concept after the closures of previous locations in midtown and El Dorado Hills. —Reeti Malhotra may 22, Sacbee.com, 22 May 2026

Servite united to card a 1-under-par 359 to claim the CIF-SS Division 1 title by two strokes over Sunny Hills at El Dorado Park Golf Course in Long Beach. —Dan Albano, Oc Register, 20 May 2026

So the film is about how the illusion of this dream, of this El Dorado, is then shattered by reality. —Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 17 May 2026

The water temperature was 54 degrees, El Dorado County deputies said. —Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 13 May 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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