El Dorado
noun
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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
Katie Camero, SELF, 17 July 2024
Explosives at that party caused the 2020 El Dorado Fire in Southern California, which started in September, burned for 71 days, killed a firefighter, destroyed 20 structures and scorched 35½ square miles in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
—Rick Hurd, The Mercury News, 12 July 2024
Avianca Airlines recently announced new, direct service from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Bogotá's El Dorado International Airport.
—Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 11 July 2024
The young adult firefighters responded to their first fire May 10 in El Dorado County.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for El Dorado 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'El Dorado.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near El Dorado
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“El Dorado.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/El%20Dorado. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
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