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

Areas affected included portions of Sacramento, Placer, Yolo, Sutter and El Dorado counties, as well as parts of Stanislaus, Merced and Fresno counties. — Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2026

Similarly to De Soto, residents in Emporia, El Dorado, Ottawa, Osawatomie and Edgerton have formed their own coalitions and circulated petitions to ban data centers in their respective communities. — Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 22 Sep. 2026

Caan got his big break at age 26 in the 1966 Western El Dorado, playing a young gunslinger alongside the two towering Hollywood legends. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Sep. 2026

Multiple law enforcement agencies joined the manhunt, including the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, Roseville and Rocklin police departments, and the California Highway Patrol. — Breaking News, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 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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