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

They two games against El Dorado in two weeks, which is the final week of the regular season. —Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026

Among the local community organizations and partners at the fair were the Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach City College, the Conservation Corps of Long Beach, the California Conservation Corps, El Dorado Nature Center and the Marine Mammal Care Center. —Julianna Lozada, Daily News, 23 Apr. 2026

Oak Ridge High School in the El Dorado Union High School District in El Dorado Hills ranked 220th statewide. —Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 23 Apr. 2026

At the time, McFarlin was working at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), according to a previous media release from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office. —Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 18 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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