El Salvador

American  

[el sal-vuh-dawr, el sahl-vah-thawr] / ɛl ˈsæl vəˌdɔr, ɛl ˌsɑl vɑˈðɔr /

noun

1. a republic in NW Central America. 13,176 sq. mi. (34,125 sq. km). San Salvador.

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El Salvador British  

/ ɛl ˈsælvəˌdɔː /

noun

1. a republic in Central America, on the Pacific: colonized by the Spanish from 1524; declared independence in 1841, becoming a republic in 1856. It consists of coastal lowlands rising to a central plateau. Coffee constitutes over a third of the total exports. Official language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: US dollar. Capital: San Salvador. Pop: 6 108 590 (2013 est). Area: 21 393 sq km (8236 sq miles)

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El Salvador Cultural  

1. Republic on the Pacific coast of Central America, bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the north and east by Honduras, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean. San Salvador is its capital and largest city.

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Torn by civil unrest and characterized by guerrilla warfare and terrorism (which has included the murder of American civilians), El Salvador became in the 1980s a controversial focus of an American foreign policy that sought to protect American interests in Central America. Unrest eased in the 1990s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

El Salvador

Last winter, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi clashed with Weiss over the editor’s decision to hold a story about an El Salvador maximum-security prison.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

They include countries that Venezuela’s government had considered sworn enemies at the start of the year like El Salvador, Israel and the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

And in 1969, Honduras and El Salvador fought a brief war as sentiments were stirred up by a World Cup qualifying match.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

Immigrants from El Salvador are now holding their breath for an upcoming decision on their TPS designation, which is set to expire Sept. 9.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

In the dining room, applying a second coat to the wall, was Marco, originally from El Salvador.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers