El Dorado

American  

[el duh-rah-doh, -rey-, el daw-rah-thaw, el duh-rey-doh] / ˌɛl dəˈrɑ doʊ, -ˈreɪ-, ɛl dɔˈrɑ ðɔ, ˌɛl dəˈreɪ doʊ /

noun

1. a legendary treasure city of South America, sought by the early Spanish explorers.

2. any place offering great wealth.

3. a city in S Arkansas.

4. a town in S Kansas.

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El Dorado British  

/ ɛl dɒˈrɑːdəʊ, ɛl doˈraðo /

noun

1. a fabled city in South America, rich in treasure and sought by Spanish explorers in the 16th century

2. Also: eldorado.  any place of great riches or fabulous opportunity

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El Dorado Cultural  

1. A place of fabulous wealth, or an opportunity to obtain it. During the gold rush many adventurers believed that California would be their El Dorado. The name comes from the name of a legendary South American city of stupendous riches sought by Spanish conquistadores.

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Etymology

Origin of El Dorado

C16: from Spanish, literally: the gilded (place)

Example Sentences

El Dorado made the Southern Section playoffs as an at-large team before surging in the postseason under coach Matt Raya, winning a Division 4 section title and Division III regional title.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

El Dorado 61, Leuzinger 56: The Golden Hawks earned a spot against San Jose Valley Christian at 2 p.m. on Friday in the Division III final.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

Gahr 1, El Dorado 0: A ninth-inning run ended the pitching duel.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Texas is emerging as a US tech world El Dorado, luring investments with cheap energy, relaxed regulations, tax incentives and reasonably affordable real estate for massive data centers.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Having no idea where to find El Dorado, he blundered randomly for months about the eastern foothills of the Andes, then as now a country of deep forest.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann