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.

---

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)

---

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.

---

Discover More

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

Alongside him, Cristian Lara, a 50-year-old merchant, thanked the festival organizers for "blessing" his house with a mural, and stated that there are "new winds of change" in El Salvador.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Offers of help have also come from Ecuador, Brazil, El Salvador, and Venezuela.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras, located in the so-called "Dry Corridor", all set monthly temperature records in both June and July, heightening concerns over famine.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

ICE said Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo, 41, of El Salvador suffered a medical emergency on Saturday and was pronounced dead after being taken to a New Jersey hospital.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

His parents and younger brothers are all in El Salvador, and he misses them.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina